Murder Ought Not Ever Be a Duty

May 23, 2013 #738

Dear Subscriber:

This week’s poem of the week is a poem for Memorial Day.

You can hear me read the poem and listen to the music for it at my site by going to http://www.poemsforfree.com/week.html.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Murder ought not ever be a duty,
Even though for soldiers it must be.
Maybe one is bound by love or beauty
Only after one is safe and free.
Remember, then, those who murdered for you,
Invading, burning, bombing in your name,
And those whose plain white tombstones are before you,
Long dead, with neither guilt nor pride nor shame.
Deep within the heart the cause of war,
Alive and well, assures us there’ll be more,
Yielding hatred, fear, revenge, and pain.

© by Nicholas Gordon

See me recite the poem at http://youtu.be/y2Eo7XvTYCA.