The Plague

written sometime in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War (bsn)   (I was drafted in 1967 and classified 4F during the medical exam because of asthma)

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19690000                              War The Plague posted at HelloPoetry

The wars wore on, the bodies were counted,      Generals and hoplites ideals undaunted,      Faces with eyes unable to see,      Turning away, fearing to flee.      The drums roll on   Doom, Doom, Doom Wrinkled old men cursing the wars      Squatting on knees unbearably sore.      Starving young children, bellies distended      Praying for peace when all wars have ended.      The drums roll on   Doom, Doom, Doom Tall oak trees, symbols of might      Stripped of their beauty alone in the night.      Spiders in holes and hermits in caves      Escaping the wars      But who will they save?      The drums roll on   Doom, Doom, Doom Windows and doors broken and boarded,      Visions of riches jealously hoarded.      Words of the liars are honorably sold      Through windows and doors bordered in gold.      The drums roll on   Doom, Doom, Doom Plague in the cities, stench from the rot,      Kills all the honest, feeds who are not.      Black hooded monks ringing their bells      Tell of the death, the hatred, the hell.      The drums roll on   Doom, Doom, Doom Dancing in graveyards, singing of health,      Satan's disciples bringing black death,      Rising from hell, blackening the sun,      Clouds of the wars      That can never be won.      The drums roll on   Doom, Doom, Doom      And the bell tolls once      and stops.