Vietnam Redux

by Gary H. Adams / May 19th, 2024

Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, India-Pakistan
ISIS, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan
drones-drones-drones
When the fine dust of death settles
War is not healthy
for children
and other living things
Sounds of infants crying consume the night
Cuts like a knife sharpened for strife
War is very healthy
for business
and other corporate things
Worshipping profit over peace
Sounds of cash registers ringing delight
The piggies’ smiles are exceptionally bright
When the world’s ablaze in horror and fright
War is not healthy
for children
or other living things
but it lines the pockets to the hilt
when the register goes cha-ching!
And the death shroud is lowered
On young bodies, flowers and Spring

Gary H Adams is a retired federal civil servant living in Illinois. He graduated from the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy and has sailed on merchant ships all over the world and worked on tugboats in New York harbor and the surrounding waterways. He has a Master of Library Science from the University of Oklahoma in1975 and has worked in academic and federal libraries until returning to sea in 1981. Upon returning to shore, he worked in transportation and logistics. He has had poems published in Alkahest: American College Poetry, Wesleyan University Press, 1969 and Ukraine: Light in the Darkness, compiled by Rodney Drought and Margaret Gudkov, 2022. Read other articles by Gary H..

This article was posted on Sunday, May 19th, 2024 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.