the pacifist’s lament

in memory Bill Fay

at age seventeen
he knew he was a pacifist
never put to the test 
wars have warred somewhere
throughout his unarmed life
yet his various
belligerent governments
had never insisted he fight
in one of their supposedly
just and moral wars
now this government
never will 
age means he’s no longer
required to kill
another mother’s son 
whom he’s never met
 he hasn’t even had to declare
himself a conchie 
or face a tribunal to justify
instead late in the day
he now knows himself
to be a terrorist
or so 
his current Prime Minister says
this Knight of the Realm
has set his forces
of law and order
to arrest all known terrorists
and shove them in clink
as did previous governments 
shove all the terrorists
who sought 
to free themselves
from Colonial rule 
and then despite it all 
compose  their own government 
and began to lock up terrorists
or even murder them 
to the manner born
in his heart 
the pacifist will always believe
war begets war
war is terrorism
war is murder

peace be in your sight and in your seeing
peace be in their bikes and in their door keys
and peace be in your team losing
and in your dustbin that blew away….

.

Jeff Cloves

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