A Fair Warning

by Katherine

As I look at the world today,
And hear the people say,
“Save the troops,
Bring them home,
Keep thousands, no,
A hundred thousand or more
Alive to fight another date.”

I glance at them and answer back,
“Their job’s not done,
Why should they play?
We need them to stay
And work for today.

“My life is new,
My days are young,
My heart still yearns
For things I’ve not done.
If they leave before they’re through,
Those undone things
Will remain undone.

“I won’t get a chance
To do those things
For I may not live
To be much older
Than I am today.

“If I live then I will deal
With the mistakes and errors
That you, my leaders, made.
My life will be torment
From the bomb
That will attack
The country I call home.
I will suffer from poisoning
That traveled from who knows where,
After the wolf slaughters
A nearby heard of sheep.

“My brothers will fight
As soldiers tomorrow
Not the Mid-East Islamic,
As they do today,
But the European
And Hispanic Islamic.

“For they will have succumbed
To the numerous threats
Of destruction
Or isolation
That moved them to do the things
They would never have done
In a time of peace
Before the war
To end all wars.

“It was never about oil
Or about revenge.
It was about keeping
Our way of life the same.

“What good is saving
A hundred thousand plus
When you condemn
A billion or so?”

Author Note: Katherine is 15 years old and has been an occasional contributor to this site. She is busy with school and has little time to blog recently.