Poems against War

Stop War! (Foto: Sima Ghaffarzadeh via Pexels)
Stop War! (Foto: Sima Ghaffarzadeh via Pexels)

It’s war in Europe again. An aggressive, merciless assault by Russia’s dictator Putin against a much smaller country. There is not much we can do – but at least we can write.

Warefare I (Text: Martin Duehning)
Warefare I (Text: Martin Duehning)

Warfare

Those who believe that
you can solve problems of humanity
through wars
also believe you can cure people
by executing them.

* * *

Warfare II (Text: Martin Duehning)
Warfare II (Text: Martin Duehning)

Warfare II

There are no holy wars.
There are no just wars.
There are no clean wars.
Wars are massacres.
Wars destroy humanity.
Wars lead to unspeakable horros
and suffering for generations –

Always and without
any exception!

* * *

The Free World (Text: Martin Duehning)
The Free World (Text: Martin Duehning)

The Free World

The free world still exists,
the free world, the good old world,
the western world that pleases us
hasn’t grown any bigger over the years,
all by itself and just for fun, for ours,
as we so naively hoped it would.
We watched it happen.
But there are limits…

The free world has become smaller,
for crises besiege it, for wars consume it,
for dictators corrupt it with brazen lies
– and we watch it dutifully on the television,
a little saddened, perhaps even sleepless
and then we do nothing. There are limits…

How far are we prepared to go
for freedom and justice?
Would we be prepared to sit in a cold place,
so that Mr Putin, with our money for oil and gas
doesn’t drop his bombs on people,
cities, factories and cornfields?
They are not ours. There are just limits…

Or would we be prepared to pay a fair price
for the grain, the bread, that we throw to our pigs,
who have to wither away in the nightlight with
chickens and cows for cheap cutlets, eggs, milk?
We have to economise. There are just limits…

Or would we be willing to speak the truth,
the pure truth, if we had to take responsibility for it,
which I’m sure would be exhausting,
and probably very uncomfortable,
and a drain on our holy economy,
the sacred cow, the golden, the untouchable.
Well, there are just limits…

Because what do we really worship:
Freedom? Justice? Fraternity?
Probably only our profit …
There’s nothing you can do about it.
Ask some of our bought-in experts:
There really isn‘t.
We have to watch and wait,
We can still think a little, but:
We are so limited – it’s just a shame!

* * *

 

Über Martin Dühning 1428 Artikel
Martin Dühning, geb. 1975, studierte Germanistik, kath. Theologie und Geschichte in Freiburg im Breisgau, arbeitet am Hochrhein-Gymnasium in Waldshut und ist Gründer, Herausgeber und Chefredakteur von Anastratin.de.