Here's my best poem. The assigned theme was the "Effects of War."
Never the Same
We stand there pumped up, ready to fight;
It’s just fun and games, after all, right?
What harm is there in killing someone?
For are they not evil and wrong?
It may all just seem like one big game,
But afterwards no one is really the same.
Told he was malicious, vile, untrue,
But he looks no different than me or you.
Had I gotten to know him,
He might have been my friend;
But I shot him, and now he is dead.
Bodies in trenches, blood in the snow,
Comrade by friend crying, “Please don’t go…â€
Is there a purpose for all this harm?
What drives us to do this?
Is there some sort of charm?
Why did this happen? Please tell me why;
Why did all those people have to die?
Forlorn with anguish, hope against fear;
Sometimes it seems that the end is near.
Women are crying, children and friends;
A gash in the heart that no one can mend.
All cry out in hopeless despair;
The loss of loved ones is too much to bear.
Families torn apart, friends and more;
All because of what? A pointless war?
We say it’s for the better,
But is it really right?
For in the end, more harm is done;
We took away the gift of life.
The soldiers come back,
Receiving medals and awards;
Young heroes of today,
But will they be remembered afterward?
They feel dejected, not wanting to live;
They killed thousands, can their families forgive?
Happy to be back, glad to be home,
But forever will their minds wander and roam.
“Why did I do this? What have I done?
“Is it really over? Or has it just begun?â€
Win or lose, does it really matter?
People are dead, and the world is sadder.
It may all just seem like one big game,
But afterwards no one is really the same.
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Deep inside us all is a little green elf telling us to burn things.
