Play the drum roll! <br />Enlist the naive <br />young men who played <br />hockey and lacrosse <br />in high school. <br />Who got laid at <br />their proms. <br />Drank with their buddies. <br />Planned their futures. <br />Dreamed their dreams. <br />Tell them they have to <br />defend freedom. <br />Play them songs of <br />heroism and pride. <br />Show them pretty <br />pictures of foreign women. <br />Insist they should be <br />proud of such a “career”. <br />'The few and the brave! ' <br />'The mighty and proud! ' <br />Dress them in the <br />same green uniform. <br />Shout at them. <br />Destroy their <br />will to think. <br />Give them guns and <br />banners to carry. <br />Make up an enemy <br />teach them to hate. <br />Send them far away <br />to a country they've <br />read about in <br />magazines. <br />March them. <br />Parade them. <br />Deploy them. <br />Set them against <br />other young men <br />who were dreamed <br />into the same nightmare. <br />Let the two sides <br />come into battle. <br />The ultimate hero <br />contest for young men! <br />Brittle bombs. <br />Knives, destruction. <br />A good cause! <br /> <br />When you are finished <br />using their youth, <br />send some of them home <br />shattered and afraid. <br />Keep some for tomorrow's <br />new headline war. <br />For the dead, send home <br />a flag to their mothers. <br />Don't forget to tell <br />the grieving families <br />that their sons <br />died <br />for freedom!<br /><br />Chris G. Vaillancourt<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/how-to-play-war/
