An Anniversary of War

The dictator looks over

his shoulder, afraid.

The actor rallies

his countrymen, tired,

Surprised at the soul

he has found,

the souls he has roused

and lost.

This year of killing.

Pundits write of history

and hurt, tell of

heroes and cowards,

ancient tropes found anew.

Nothing new under the sun,

a chase after the wind,

which smells only of decay.

Each day an anniversary—

a calendar of death—

Agincourt, Afghanistan

Boer, Balkan

Civil, Crimean.

The ABCs of war.

As quotidian as a child

reciting.

War feeds our spirit

even as we feign fear of its

fathomless history.

EJD

Feb 24, 2023