ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

1914-18. FIVE WAYS TO HAVE A WAR.

I

Gavrilo Princip fired the gun;
like a starting pistol; war's begun.
Ferdinand and Sophie lie
as first of millions doomed to die.
Gavrilo what is this you've done.

II

They're marching now;
the military massed machine,
to gas and slash and bomb and burn,
to strike down all those fit young men
in Europe's foulest filthiest fields.

III

Young men will come from far away
in answer to the coo-ee call.
They'll leave behind the shearing sheds,
the wheat fields and the milking stall.
Why, in a nation newly born
should widows have to weep and mourn.

IV

Instead of shears they'll cut with bayonets,
shoot men instead of siring sons.
Instead of planting wheat; dig trenches,
ride chargers, not the drover's horse.
Instead of sunning on the beach
they'll fall on some strange Turkish shore.
Instead of living out their dreams
they'll find the nightmare that is war.

V

In time, war lords will call a halt,
when Europe's corpse is pale
and drained of blood.
They'll praise their god omnipotent
sing peace and victory,
while Corporal Hitler's learned to war
in the Kaiser's regiment.

You covered it all well there Neville, I liked it.
Interesting stanza patterns.
Ron

Thanks for the comments Ron.

G/day Neville.
That pretty well sums up the futility of it all doesn't it,

The country also now bears little resemblance to what it was in those times.

We've changed and I'm not sure if it's for the better either.

Terry

Thanks for the reply Terry.

Why, in a nation newly born
should widows have to weep and mourn.

Why indeed Neville?
Will there ever be a time when weeping is not the end result?
A sad tale in five parts. Well told.
wazza

Good comment Warren.


Well said Matt. And in this one, there are at least five ways to make a poem, there's not only two ways to make a poem