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Paying For Lies With Lives

"Sing to me, Muse, of the wrath of Achilles." - Iliad, Line 1 Western dreams were born in wrath, Overmastering all the noble aims of reason. The bloom of youth, cut from its proper path, Fallen wasted in full season Torn and silent upon fields of fire, Betrayed by elder men's desire To force their goals on one another, Stolen from each grieving Mother Against the tides of pain each strives His misery to quench, his hate to smother As they pay for lies with lives. Home and hearth abandoned for ambition, The promise of tomorrow dies on foreign shores For shadows' sake they are cast to perdition, To drown in the shifting seas of wars. The Enemy as confused as they, Affrighted and divided by the fray, Consumed by fear in the battle's heat The dead lie dead, come victory or defeat. The living, stung by memories' knives, Against which they in vain entreat, Go on to pay for lies with lives. The world turns on as the game is played, Each dawn finds men so much the same. The debts accrue, are bourne and paid Each seeking honor for his name, And a home secure in peace. Yet men move other men, and will not cease To bind them to some formless claim or cause, To bid them die to right the flaws Perceived in others of like kind; their wives Bide in fear and live by tyrants' laws As they pay for lies with lives. Noctambulate, the pawns of powers fight, For cause of country weakly understood; They move from day to death's eternal night Directed by the wills of men of wood. When all has ended, what has been acheived? What meaning comforts myriads bereived? The world will turn, and others rise To fill the void, the numb surprise Of lives unlived, of weeping eyes, Of silence heavy with unanswered sighs For those who paid for lies with lives. Must so many lines of history Be so far writ in blood, So tainted with tragic mystery Trammeled by iron stained with mud, Its pages overrun with acts untamed, Acts of slaughter by the vast unnamed? So many deeds set down in red Give cause to rest uneasy in our beds. Though the past recedes, the present shall reprise The accusatory march of the silent dead, Parading those who paid for lies with lives. Who dares leave our collective guilt unclaimed? Were not our many wars for subtle reasons framed By minds fit for much finer uses, By hearts that might have scorned such abuses Leading to this madness - who denies Those self-delusions that should leave us shamed, That make us pay for lies with lives?

Copyright © | Year Posted 2007




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Date: 1/5/2016 2:16:00 PM
William: I believe I've caught the Masonis bug. Each one I read calls for another. I've read lots of other poetry and have found none I've enjoyed as much as the 20 or so of yours I've read today. I can't thank you enough for this experience. oldbuck
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Date: 12/19/2009 1:04:00 PM
Congrats on your feature poem this week!! Love Light Patty
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Date: 12/15/2009 12:57:00 PM
Many congratulations on your poetry being featured on the Soup this week >> James
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Date: 12/15/2009 2:37:00 AM
Congratulations on having your poem featured this week. A well deserving honor. A. W. Nutter www.freewebs.com/abcedit
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Date: 12/14/2009 5:56:00 PM
Much for the reader to ponder about. No one really wins in war as you so aptly present here. Congratulations on having your poem featured. Wishing you continued success with your writing. Karen
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Date: 12/14/2009 11:14:00 AM
William - a wonderful poem, many ocngrats on being featured this week. Rgds Janette
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Date: 12/14/2009 8:20:00 AM
Congratulations on your poetry being featured at PoetrySoup this week Bill. May you have many more features. Love,Carol
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Date: 12/14/2009 5:05:00 AM
congrats on being featured this week
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Date: 1/28/2009 4:11:00 PM
Congratulations on your beautiful poetry being featured this week..God Bless*Tyesha
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Date: 1/28/2009 3:37:00 PM
This is an astounding piece of work, William. You brought me to the battle field with your imagery...fields of past, and of present. You also point out the irony of war; no matter the winner, everyone loses in different ways. Thank you for this beautifully formed poem. Donna G.
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Date: 1/28/2009 5:21:00 AM
Congratulations on your poetry being chosen to feature this week Bill. May you have many more excellent poems featured. Love, Carol
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Date: 1/27/2009 5:46:00 AM
Congratulations on your wonderful featured write of the week! Love, Shar
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Date: 1/26/2009 3:06:00 PM
Noctambulate? Is this a walk in the night? An ambitious write. And the bleeding goes on, Huh? Congrats on this selection. Love, daver
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Date: 1/26/2009 10:47:00 AM
Congrats William on "Paying for Lies With Lives" being featured. From the Kingston Trio "When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?" Vince
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Date: 1/25/2009 12:54:00 PM
Powerful poem, powerful words...this is quite a masterpiece. Well done, and congratulations on being featured this week! Carrie
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