Return The Bullets (a Repost from Nov 2017)

Lately I have posted a few poems about the futility of war … I’m not very accomplished at writing about the wars of the world, I get far too angry and confused to write something sensible, but this is a rather long poem I wrote about my recollections of the “Gulf War” in 1990.

Return the Bullets

The mind awakens to secret cannons shattering my bed
All the violence of the worlds pounding inside my head
The killing and the maiming of all the innocents who fled
What happens when all the little lambs are slaughtered?
When the peoples of all religions and creed are dead
And we cannot return the murdering bullets back into the barrel

I am afraid
The backyard stairway is far too steep to climb
The handrails are way out of reach to find
And the public change-room windows are covered with bars
Now encircling the city hall, the security backdoor is ajar
Entering the marble aisle, the White room appears vacant
And guileful leaders have run, leaving a chasm of gloomy dark

I am wandering
Where to go, the healing house is full of ugly holes
The citizens cowering in shadows behind splintered lighting poles
And the crumbling streets are awash with rivers of leftover blood
Now the warring bosses have to fight amonst themselves
Throwing poison pens and paper darts at each other
Niether bruised nor battered, using ivory towers as cover

I am terrified
The dusty mushroom cloud slowly settles on the barren ground
With sands of distant lands, shifting into every nook and cranny
We need the good Doctor, to help us cure these alien scourges
And foreigners arriving upon waves of our neighbouring seas
The deathly TV images, wrongly implanted for all to see
As the press only gossip and drivel with selfish glee

I am stupefied
The guns of freedom lands haven’t even stopped the cull
Death to friends or foe, no matter, to the rulers from above
Their only rules, the poor and weak to be kept totally downtrodden
One day the surviving meek shall inherit their radioactive dirt
The rich will feast upon their own contaminated bread
But will never return the murdering bullets back into the barrel 







Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2023

Published by

Unknown's avatar

ivor20

G'day, and welcome to my blog site. My name is Ivor Steven, I live in Geelong, Australia. I'm an ex-industrial chemist, and a retired plumber, and a former Carer of my wife(Carole), for 30 years, who suffered from severe MS. I Write poetry about those personal thoughts, throughout and beyond my life as a Carer. I've been blogging for over 2 years, and writing poems for 19 years. Of course a lot of my poems are about my favourite subject Carole, but since I've been blogging my writings have become quite varied, humourous, mystical, observational, and even a few monster/horror poems.

21 thoughts on “Return The Bullets (a Repost from Nov 2017)”

  2. I think you’re very accomplished. Your words describe the hell of war. If only my dad, a veteran, could have found a way to express himself. Maybe he would have had healing. He stayed silent on his experiences until he passed away from heart attack. Maybe you could lead a workshop to help others express themselves through writing. Blessings 🙌

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you for your supportive comments… the trauma of war is a terrible thing … I understand the therapeutic value of writing as a process of healing one’s soul … I have suffered 3 strokes and writing has helped me cope with the trauma of rehabilitation … thank you for sharing your story 🤗🌏📖

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. These days, the war in Ukraine has become murky and confusing. It drags on with so much destruction and suffering. People in poor countries are starving without the grain from Ukraine. Russia is making alliances with pariah nations in exchanges of dangerous weapons. I wish I knew of something encouraging to say about the war ending. Your poem, Ivor expresses my feelings very well!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Well done, Ivor. And I completely understand your anger and frustration over war. One would think humanity would have learned to do better by now. Your poem conveys the horror of it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you Annette … I’m not sure how to explain my feelings about this war situation … but I think the majority of us feel the same way about “Why” do we still have these archaic wars 🤗🌏🥲

      Like

      Reply

  7. It’s only natural, that war angers us, because we empathize about how those who are innocent, who are murdered by the war itself, and, the soldiers who are fighting, are victims, of their government’s bad behaviors, because the rulers wanted dominion over another land, that’s why the people pay for it!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. A powerful, emotion-filled poem, Ivor. I totally understand how you feel. I feel all those same feelings. It’s so sad that wars continue and continue… 😦
    (((HUGS))) ❤️❤️
    PS…”I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you very much, Carol … It’s a poem I’ve revised a number of times, and it’s getting closer to being a flowing and cohesive poem … 📃😍

      Like

      Reply

Leave a reply to ivor20 Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.