Richard W. Reith

COPYRIGHT LIFE, ALL HAPPINESS RESERVED

He sits on the grass searching the sky
Straining to find any reason why
His dreams were laid down to silently die.

He duteously did what was required
Of a man while the war transpired
While wife and whoremonger conspired.

Now well beyond the war, both are here,
One in the abyss of pain, one in fear -
Realist and the imagineer.

Life, in the end, is the Great Betrayer,
Laughing at love and fervent prayer.
Desecrating their vows beyond repair

Men lay their wreaths at the heroes graves,
Grieve precious lives they couldn’t save -
Though he perished not, tis death he craves.

When war breeds infidelity and deceit
When war tramples dreams under its feet
A soldier, finally, learns defeat.

And the quisling who stole his life,
Pierced the warrior with lust-filled knife,
Now masquerades as paragon in life.

Praises the troops as veteran bold,
The quisling who wreaked havoc untold,
Ignoring that, to evil, his soul was sold.

As the man who put his life on the line,
Sips the acid of life’s bitter wine,
Quisling acts as patriot sublime.

With feigned contrition in every breath
While ignoring the chance to reduce his debt
Proves that self-centeredness knows not death