A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wing in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky. But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his…
I lived in the first century of world wars. Most mornings I would be more or less insane, The newspapers would arrive with their careless stories, The news would pour out of various devices Interrupted by attempts to sell products to the unseen. I would call my friends on other devices; They would…
If you want a thing bad enough To go out and fight for it, Work day and night for it, Give up your time and your peace and your sleep for it If only desire of it Makes you quite mad enough Never to tire of it, Makes you hold all other things tawdry and cheap for it If life seems all empty and usele…
Is anybody happier because you passed his way? Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today? This day is almost over, and its toiling time is through; Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you? Did you give a cheerful greeting to the friend who came along? Or a churlish sort of "Howdy"…
The tree that never had to fight For sun and sky and air and light, But stood out in the open plain And always got its share of rain, Never became a forest king But lived and died a scrubby thing. The man who never had to toil To gain and farm his patch of soil, Who never had to win his share Of su…
Let there be peace So frowns fly away like albatross And skeletons foxtrot from cupboards, So war correspondents become travel show presenters And magpies bring back lost property, Children, engagement rings, broken things. Let there be peace So storms can go out to sea to be Angry and return to me…
Ich bin Soldat, doch bin ich es nicht gerne (I am a soldier, though I don’t want to be one) Als ich es ward, hat man mich nicht gefragt (When I became one, it was mandatory) Man riss mich fort, hinein in die Kaserne (I was torn away into the barracks) Gefangen ward ich, wie ein Wild gejagt (I was c…
'He would see this country burn if he could be King of the ashes' Mutually assured destruction, that’s the promised foundation of nuclear weapons. Mankind’s most destructive creation is sadly back in the picture thanks to the recent conflict started by Russia. It’s crazy to think that the fate of h…
Saturday afternoon. The barracks is almost empty. The soldiers are almost all on overnight pass. There is only me, writing this letter to you, And one other soldier, down at the end of the room, And a spider, that hangs by the thread of his guts, His tenacious and delicate guts, Swift's spider, All…
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of t…
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones". -Albert Einstein Earlier today, Russia moved troops into Ukraine in an aggressive military operation that can only be described as an invasion. Plenty of cities including the capital…
If a poem you would write, Now's the time! Ne'er was epic yet or sonnet Captured but by leaping on it; Pegasus depend upon it, Knows his time. If you have a task to do, Now's the time! Now, while you've a notion to it; Now, while zeal will help you do it; Or in shame you'll hobble through it, Out o…