Poem: Divisionist History

Divisionist History

We fight for many reasons,
We fight for what we believe.
We’re right, they’re wrong,
And they’re trying to deceive.

We start a fight, or defend ourselves,
In battles won or lost.
War rages on forever,
And no one knows the cost.

We teach “divide and conquer”,
Study tactics and strategy.
And each day we keep on killing,
Because they’re not like me.

We keep building better weapons,
To kill Them more efficiently.
Why should we even care a bit,
They are the enemy.

Millions die and billions suffer.
The atrocities abound.
A dozen here, thousands there,
We’re indifferent to the sound.

To some “it” never happened.
Others argue that “it” did.
Some say “it” might have happened,
But not the way “They” said.

Each side tells their story,
Convinced that what they say is true.
But the victors always get to say,
And write history anew.

We’ll never truly know the reasons,
Only what the victors say,
Cause They’re the ones who write the books.
It doesn’t matter anyway.

One day I hope we’ll stop the madness,
It’s causing quite a fright.
But that doesn’t really seem to matter,
When we go to bed at night.

We’re no specific country,
Nation, state, or faith.
Nor race, nor creed, nor color,
We are the human race.

We can’t ever know the reasons.
We can’t begin to count the cost.
We can’t even know the truth.
We can only mourn the loss.

But any way you view it,
I hope we all can see.
Our righteousness perpetuates
Our divisionist history.

-- Geoff Strickler
-- March 31, 2007