Poem -

How Many?...

How Many?...

How many....
ships must sail to war,
glorious dead unaccounted for,
war widows must pitifully weep,
orphaned children deprived of sleep,
war-mongers fuelled by hate,
religious peoples to decimate,
villages still left to gas,
people to kill en masse,
citizens to cajole and hoodwink,
corpses left to rot and stink,
bombs still to be dropped,
bullets that can't be stopped,
mines awaiting innocent feet,
limbs wrapped up in a sheet,
criminals escape the hangman,
minorities to bully and harangue,
booby-traps coldly await their lure,
years of violence can people endure,
politicians must cheat and lie,
lives evil dictators cynically deny,
white flags drenched in bloodshed,
peace treaties to arrogantly shred,
coffin makers run out of wood,
villagers shot where they stood,
smart bombs that go astray,
children die today,
tanks crush what's in their way,
children die today,
last breaths left to take,
families to annihilate,
souls corrupted for evermore,
bodies littering a church floor,
lunatics blindly obeying all orders,
tanks massing on peaceful borders
high tech missiles miss their mark,
shell-shocked troops must disembark,
banned weapons await to be sprung,
war dead are so deplorably young,
priests to give last rites,
bully boys war excites,
infinite wrongs need righting,
hearts weren't set on fighting,
abandoned countries ruled by extremists,
abandoned countries where fear persists,
men left to go over the top,
wishes for all wars to stop,
veterans forgotten and alone,
endless gardens of cold stone,
enemies who make peaceful amends,
enemies we now embrace as friends.

Ask yourselves, please,

How many?...

The first casualty of war is innocence

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Comments

author
Kiesha Taylor

Brilliant write, I read it twice and appreciated how each line rhymed.

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Shaun Cronick

Thank you Kiesha and a shame it had to be written.

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Jill Tait

Shamazing Shaun as always my friend šŸ’•ā¤ļøšŸ’•

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Shaun Cronick

Thank you Jill and a shame it had to be written.

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Jill Tait

ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø

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Neville

Sadly, you have just penned some of the most hard hitting words on the sheer wanton wastefulness of war and the many injustices of it that I have stumbled upon in a long time ..

some words are just crying out to be writ ..Ā and timely too sir .. Lest we forget ..

I salute you sir ... NevilleĀ 
Ā 

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Shaun Cronick

Thank you Neville and a shame it had to be written.

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The fish of the sea

This is one of the best anti-war writes I have seen on the Cosmos Shaun. That`s really saying something. Thing is, what sets it apart from most is its intrinsic imagery. I think that says a lot about you as a poet and a person. I look up to you for your world knowledge, about history, events, books and movies. You seem so well rounded in your views. That really hits your poetry out of the park for me. Enjoyed my friend.

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Shaun Cronick

Thank you Max and a shame it had to be written.

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Gwendoline

Shaun, what an EPIC write my friend. You have born the voice for the innocence here. Your words are powerful and truly grapple the grim truth about war. We as humans have yet to wake up to the realisationĀ  that violence only breeds violence. That innocent victims pay the biggest price in such events. I hope your poetry reaches far and wide my friend. Because you are voice that should be heard, for there is always much to learn in your words xĀ 

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Shaun Cronick

Thank you Gwen and a shame it had to be written.

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Marion

Wow Shaun...outstanding and for me...that last line...nails it!!! I don't think many would disagree with any of the words you have written ....yet....I will ponder your words as I get road rage at the driver in front and know in my heart that sadly...I know exactly why we go to war. Because we are human and mostly....a vile species. My opinion only. Hugs šŸ’•

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Shaun Cronick

Thank you Marion and a shame it had to written.

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Jim "The Lad" ....

great write Shaun! I abhor war! Satan stirs the greedy hearts of men, and the innocent suffer to defend the last bastions of freedom so that we all aren't a big North Korean state! my take anyway! all the best!............................Jim

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Shaun Cronick

Thank you Jim and a shame it had to be written.

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lodigiana

As always, your works deliver not only wonderful pace and rhythm but Ā also a pin prick to the conscience of humanity ! Fabulously crafted piece Shaun and a pleasure to read and read again!Ā 
Lodigiana x

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Shaun Cronick

Thank you Lodigiana and a shame it had to written in the first place.

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Greg Etsell

wonderful poemĀ 
sorry i am late reading it
this is a wonderful poem

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Shaun Cronick

Thank you Greg and a shame it had to written in the first place.

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author
Being Me

The first casualty of war is innocence

Absolutely it is!Ā  Wow, what a sobering write this is. IĀ hate war. Why are humans sooo bloody awful? We are capable of such love and kindness so why the nasty, horribleness of war? Brilliant writing my friend x

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Shaun Cronick

Thank you Tina and a shame it had to written in the first place.
Will we as a species ever truly learn lessons from history.

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Pratibha Savani

As depressing as it is to read about the casualties of pointless wars...that's what I believe - that they are completely pointless as no one wins....this is an epic write up of its true nature....so structurally written in rhyme....you can tackle any topic and display such variety in your themes. Very well excuted....excuse the pun! Pxx

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author
Shaun Cronick

Thank you so much for stopping by and really hitting home
aboutĀ casualties of pointless wars Pratibha.
For yes, the loss involved and it's effects for the living are pains beyond belief.
Apologies for this late reply and hope all is well for your good self and not forgetting your family too.
Shaun x
Ā 

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author
Mark Olcott

sparks the recall of the of classic poems, songs, ballads about this human malady, this stands with the best of them in my mind

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Shaun Cronick

Mark, you honour me with your most generous comment.
Thank you so much for what you have said and I shall be having quality time off soon to read many more of your poems and you always write especial poetry and clearly take time to craft them.
Thank you again Mark for your uplifting comment and for stopping by.
Ā 

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