War Crime$

Throughout our bloody history

soldiers have died
in many uniforms
and guises

Not for a flag

or any particular 
political ideology 

They did not perish
for you or me

their countries

or even their families

They gave their lives
cause they were 
ordered to do so

under penalty
of treason

by old men of means
who pulled all the strings
from corporate castles 
well behind the lines

Spoon fed
all the clever slogans

selling fear
and patriotic zeal

Dehumanize
and demonize the enemy

who in turn does the same

to herd up all the sheep
for battle conflict slaughter

Bloody fodder for the history books

Battle lines bolster the bottom lines

Wars end with grand parades

Speeches made to honor the dead

as the back room boys count their profits

and plot to invest

in the next needless war