I find it difficult to watch the nightly news
The up-close sufferings, horrific views
Of children, women, men, some near my age
Like novels where I fear to turn the page
But this is real; it’s happening before my eyes
And some of those I see will likely die
A mortar shell, a bomb, a rifle shot
Real people, I’ll, my life, forget them not
Then, too, I will remember and I bless
Those souls who vid these views, the nation’s Press
They daily risk their lives recording sights
All aspects of the war, the human plights
I must admit the helplessness I feel
I know that World War III could soon be real
A diplomatic tightrope we must navigate
Support as can but not in war participate
I’ve studied war, my specialty for forty years
All aspects: soldiers, battles, tanks to spears
But some things one can’t truly analyze
The utter terror beaming from a child’s eyes
3/8/2022
