From the beginning of time and perhaps before
men have dressed in armor and gone to war
and not once through it all has either side won
as both sides lost lives at the end of a gun.

Oh, battles had victors where the other side lost
But in revered reflection, at what dire cost
and through it all, if we measure the gains
and follow history to see what remains
we find the maimed, disabled, crazed, and the dead.
So, in measuring totals, who came out ahead?

Where had Rome roamed that today they lay claim,
as well as the Greeks, what remains of their fame?
They both conquered worlds before being constrained,
when too much was gained, which they couldn't retain.

The British, French, Spanish, and Dutch all broke through
to conquer lands worldwide before they withdrew
leaving headstones and graveyards of their buried dead
fathers and sons, in the ground where they bled.
And what of the "great" wars these last hundred years
is it clear, through our tears, who persevered?
No one really, and yet today, have we found a way
to avoid death and destruction from another doomsday?

As the weapons get deadlier by our invention
we continue to kill each other in further contention.
At home or abroad, man continues to aggravate,
blaming race and religion as reasons to hate
each other, so they can point a gun and pull the trigger
while calling fanatically, Kike, Whitey, or Niggah.

One would think after millennials gone by
that the greatest gift is to live not die.
Blessed be the peacemaker, wherever they be
to have us come to our senses and simply see
where love and understanding could take us today
instead of pointing fingers as children at play
which leads to confrontation, name-calling, and spite
which historically leads us into another fight
with the results ending poorly for you and I,
as our sons and daughters go to battle and die.
As Edwin Starr sang in "War" ... "What is it good for?"