memory of war

photo courtesy of www.warchild.org


officially the war is over
uniforms cleaned and folded
wounded stitched
dead buried
widows are compensated
orphans are place in homes
or sell sodas on roadsides
flags are at half mast
heroes honored
borders reopened
normality will come
with a new generation
that has no memory of
the holocaust we have lived
lily white blank slates

but a mild anxiety
rests in their hearts
residual phenomenon
of things not spoken of
trauma suppressed
in the need to go on
in the love of one's children
to whom we hope to teach love
yet violence in the blood
without past without future
and the will to power
and the war profiteers
will find another scapegoat
they will be taught to hate
they will be taught to kill

memory where art thou?
o memory of war­—
if thou speak to us of grave loss
if we bring out our photos
can we avoid another slaughter?