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On the Homefront
by David R Spellman
I see the tanks rumble
through empty stomachs
of helpless starving children
leaving permanent tracks
across a broken landscape
of rubble-strewn lives
And the warships cruise
cutting their sleek lines
through waters of despair
leaving in their wake
a flotsam and jetsam
of society’s castaways
From afar your planes
wreak obvious havoc
no satellite photos required
to assess the damage
of city slums left
perhaps never to recover
While "luckier" refugees
find temporary comfort
no shelter can take them all
leaving the less fortunate to wander
from alleyways and depots
to die unnoticed before our eyes
And news of the war dropped
in white-washed sound-bytes
leaves us feeling secure in our homes
while bunker-busting bombs
we have all left ignored
continue to tear us apart
Weapons of mass-destruction
which haven’t just been uncovered
can be found down the street from here
in the lives that are lost
an unconcern with the costs
of the dollars spent without sense
08/22/2006 Posted on 09/01/2006
Copyright © 2024 David R Spellman
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Mara Meade on 09/01/06 at 01:22 AM And news of the war dropped
in white-washed sound-bytes
leaves us feeling secure in our homes
while bunker-busting bombs
we have all left ignored
continue to tear us apart
Weapons of mass-destruction
which haven’t just been uncovered
can be found down the street from here
in the lives that are lost
an unconcern with the costs
of the dollars spent without sense
Well, Spellman... you NAILED it in these verses. First the pictures (first two verses), then the emotion (second two), and then the decent (if you will) into realization. EXCELLENT flow of thought, disciplined into verses. |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 09/01/06 at 01:50 AM My Pick for the day!!! Well written, timely, important - should be nailed to the halls and walls of our Administration. |
| Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 09/01/06 at 01:55 AM This is a strongly worded poem concerning a timeless, universal problem. I recall Jesus' words, "The poor you have with you always!" It is incumbent upon each of us to do what we can to alleviate the suffering. I am also reminded of a charitable organization (I believe Catholic) whose motto is, "It is better to light one little candle than to curse the darkness." I think you have challenged us to light the candle. |
| Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 09/02/06 at 02:31 PM Worthy poetic, social and political snapshot David. Nowadays, thanks to satellite assisted mass communication, everything is indeed just down the street, the destruction, tragedy, and those who pay no heed to the past, manufacturing new mass weapons of destruction. |
| Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 09/02/06 at 02:31 PM Worthy poetic, social and political snapshot David. Nowadays, thanks to satellite assisted mass communication, everything is indeed just down the street, the destruction, tragedy, and those who pay no heed to the past, manufacturing new mass weapons of destruction. |
| Posted by Jean Mollett on 09/03/06 at 04:30 AM Hi David,
Great write. Full of emotioms. So sad, and true. Lori and Que have good points also. Just hope and pray how soon the wars are over and troops come home. And peace will be everywhere again. |
| Posted by Glenn Currier on 09/04/06 at 02:39 AM Thank you David for an artful dose of reality laced with sadness, empathy, and angst. You put a human face on the electric images and cold statistics. Your poem shows the feckless talk of who won and who lost for what it is - the unfortunate objectifying behavior of our species. |
| Posted by Kyle Anne Kish on 09/05/06 at 12:11 AM " ... From afar your planes
wreak obvious havoc
no satellite photos required
to assess the damage
of city slums left ..." we watch it on the news all the time, don't we? Does it really reach us in our cushy homes? Yes and no. I hope the 'yes-es' outweigh the 'no-s.' A close to home read, David. Maybe closer than we think.
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| Posted by Charles E Minshall on 09/05/06 at 05:16 PM I agree with this one Dave...Charlie |
| Posted by Mara Meade on 09/06/06 at 12:03 AM A second comment: this entire poem is very pithy. Today, the first four verses hit me in the gut. Very thought-full. I like the challenge and appreciate/understand this in a fuller context. Wow. |
| Posted by Junemarie Roldan on 09/19/06 at 12:12 AM What can you say in the face of such abject misery. Words won't help the situation, but a helping hand would. A hundred hands, a thousand hands, a million hands, a billion hands. That would help. Thank you for this powerful reminder, that we are our brother's keeper. |
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