After The War Prayer

Tear them all to bloody shreds
With our bombs. Drown us to smiles
With their shrieks. Leave their woundeds
Writhing in pain. Waste their domiciles
In hurricanes of fire. And wring
Their most unoffending widows
With unavailing grief. And sing
Upon their children’s little brows
With rags and hunger and thirst.
Blast their hopes. Blight their lives.
Make heavy their hearts. Let them burst
O him who is the source of loves.

And so we prayed for our sakes, who adored thee.
And so we died by their hands, and cursed thee.



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The above poem was inspired after the June 27 2006
quickmuse challenge between Glyn Maxwell & Thylias
Moss (see http://www.quickmuse.com), to
write a poem based upon the following quote
from Mark twain's "the war prayer":

"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols
of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou
near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also
go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved
firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God,
help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds
with our shells; help us to cover their smiling
fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead;
help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the
shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help
us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane
of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their
unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help
us to turn them out roofless with little children
to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated
land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the
sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter,
broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee
for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our
sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight
their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage,
make heavy their steps, water their way with
their tears, stain the white snow with the blood
of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit
of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and
Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all
that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble
and contrite hearts. Amen."