It Was A Bad Day In The War

It was a bad day in the war, the newscaster said
And I thought: Is there ever a good day?
Is there a day when everything goes as planned
And nobody dies and nobody lies and we all shake
another man's hand?
Good days when peace reigns and big silver planes
Are used to take the weary to their rests
And not to their tombstones?
Good days when no mother gets a telegram
And no father has to say I am
No longer a father, no longer a daddy
No longer proud to send his boy away to war
Is there ever a good day to die?
I know the reasons that we fight
We fight for righteous and for right
We kill to bring new life to light
But those wars destroy our souls !
I cry for those I do not know
So young, so brave, with hearts of gold
Life just beginning and swept away
Dying for freedom on a sunny day
Wars of bullets birthed from wars of words
Forgetting the arrogance of what we have heard
Leaders of nations in tantrums and fits
Committing their young blood
With rumors and wits
Dying for destiny, dying for sod
Raising their flags and fighting for God
How long must they fight here
On Earth's fruited planes
Dying heroes for the moment
Buried numbers for a name?

by Rhonda Love Jackson
Sept 29, 2005 5:35 p.m.