WAR WOUNDS (The Poems of Mars)

CONTENTS

Headings /

Poem Number

Preface --

Introduction --

War Wounds 1, Trust 2, Susan 3, Honesty 4.

Origins --

AS IS 5, Rome 6, UNUS 7, Imagine 8, The Hereafter 9.

Susan --

Opportunity 10, Submission 11, Lilacs 12, From Out Of The Ashes 13.

The Way of War --

These Things 14, Violence 15, Objectives 16, Training 17, To The Mark 18, Discipline 19, A Soldiers Death 20, Coup de Grace 21, On Parting 22.

Despair --

Death Chant 23, The Casualty 24.

Conclusion --

The Answer 25, In Transit 26.

Preface--

When Mister X went to the Pantheon; to close it up, and to take care of Mars' Personal Things; he found a few small scraps of paper on which Mars had written, in long hand, some "Letters" of Poetry and Prose. These Letters were scattered about his home, laying beneath the bullet ridden and shattered Glass Panes of the Dome. Where they had laid open and exposed to the harmful effects of Wind and Rain. (Apparently Mars had engaged in Target Practice inside the Dome!)

Most of his Poems were destroyed. Of those that remain, the most legible, have been included here. These Letters open a Window upon his Private Thoughts, providing us with an opportunity to gain a better Insight about this Kind Hearted Man who became a Hired Killer. For those who are curious about his motivations and the reasoning behind his actions; they offer a fresh understanding of his unique and unusual World View. They help to explain (the reason "Why" behind) this troubled Soul who thought of himself as an -- Angel of Mercy.

INTRODUCTION --

War Wounds

I have some things to show you.

(Torn bits of Flesh and tattered Soul

Transformed to Ink and Paper and

Condensed down to fit

Within the confines of this Book)

Perhaps they will offend you

But that is not my reason

For showing you these things

Not for want of Pity --

Nor need of Sympathy --

But more like, an injured animal

That cries out in pain

And in its screams, finds Sanctity --

And release from Suffering --

These Poems are my wounds

(I say them because I must)

Won on the Battle Field of Life

They are Wounds of the Soul

And they are bleeding still --

Trust

Be careful how you trod

On this Sanctuary called a Soul

Its Consistency is Gossamer

And it is Fragile -- to the Core

Speak Softly

Touch it Tenderly

Least it Disappear Within

And the prized Entanglement

Become Elusive as the Wind

Be thoughtful of the Trust

Surrendered to you there

Or you may find its Entrance

Barred to you --

Closed Forever More

SUSAN

Delicate is the Blossom

Of Creativity's Bloom

Rarer still its Encouragement

Like -- Darkness at the Noon

Plant a thousand Seeds

In Neglects deadly Gloom

And watch the Living Portent

Turn -- Dead within the Womb

Honesty

The Honesty of Dying

Does appeal to me

You do not Fake a Death Throe

Nor Pretend Agony

When all of Foolish Pride

Simply...Falls Away

And Energies are Concentrate

On this Drama in the Clay

Listen to the Truth

Now Spoken

With every Dying Gasp

Hypocrisy is Shattered

The Need for Pretense

-- Past

ORGINS --

AS IS

Things Are Not As They

Should Be--

But Rather As They Are--

We Must Accommodate

Ourselves To Reality--

It Will Not Accommodate

Itself To Us--

We Can Make Plans

For The Future--

But The Future

Is Not Guaranteed--

Better To Accept The Present--

Than To Hide Away

In Dreams--

Live Within Your Means--

Don't Try To Be,

What You're Not--

Honesty Isn't Always

Pretty--

But It Is More Attractive

Than A Lie--

Seek Contentment

In Acceptance--

Make Do With What

You Have--

Happiness Is Found

In Reality--

Not In Fantasy--

ROME

It is Time

For the Resurrection

Of -- PRACTICALITY !

Time to leave behind

The contemporary Ruins

Of Pretense

And Confusion

And return

To the marbled stones

Of cold Antiquity

There to walk

The hallowed Corridors

And be awe-struck

By the Wonder and the

Splendor that was

Once alive

But is now,

Laying Dead before us

Useless and forever spent.

It is time

To return to

-- Rome

Not to greater

Self Indulgence

(We have enough of that

Already!)

Nor to the

Moral Weakness

That ate like Cancer

Thru its Soul

But rather to the

Foundations of Perception

Of assigning Value

In keeping with

--Immediate Purpose--

--Functional Necessity--

and the

--Prejudice of Performance--

That served to organize

Its Efforts

And gave it enduring Strength

A time of efficient Plumbing

And Drainages that work !

A time of draining Swamplands

And irrigating Deserts

A time of Conquering Armies

With No Apologies--

A time of busy Commerce

And bulging Treasuries

A time of fertile Farmlands

And rich Prosperity

A time of building Roads

That go on to Eternity !

And a time of building Bridges

That will span the Centuries--

It is time

To return to

-- Rome

Let us --

Trust in Science !

Take pride in

Things that work !

And let us act now

--At Once--

To turn away

From false Gods

And unfounded Beliefs

That act like

Twisted frameworks

For the Constructions

In our Minds

We can have

A Better World

(A Better Place

In which to live--)

We need only to

--Organize Our Efforts--

So we have a

--Common Goal--

And we can have

A New Beginning--

Of Hope !

For us and all Mankind.

Our plans can be

Successful

If based on solid stone

Like the foundations

Of Practicality

That built

The Glory that was

Rome

UNUS

(Our Greater Self)

One stands naked

Before a mirror

And is fascinated

By its own Image

Another has

The exact same view

But is able to see

Beyond the Needs

Of Selfishness

To be amazed

By the Relativity

Of Perspectives

That are

Evident

In the reflected

Images of Self

Some see

Themselves

As the Sum Total

Of Existence

Others can

Look beyond

Their immediate

Needs

To think of

Universal Unity

As the only

Justifiable Limit

To Consciousness

And see

The Universe

As the only

Necessary Boundary

To this Being

So named

Self

Where are

The Limits of Self?

We need only

To look

Into a Mirror

To see --

The Ways of Nature

Are Not Random

In Design --

Existence

Is Given Order by --

The Dictates of Necessity

We Are

We Must Be --

In Order To

Survive

We, as Individuals

Are Separate

And Distinct,

We have our

Own Point of View

But ...

We are not truly

Independent

And we are completely

Reliant upon Others

For the satisfaction

Of All Our Needs

In everything

We do,

With each breath

We take, and

With each beat

of our heart,

We Inter-act

With Others

These Interactions

Are Self Regulating --

(We

Influence Others

And They, In Turn,

Influence Us;

Imposing Limits

On what Will,

And Will Not Be)

By our Interactions

We are Limited

And we are also

--Transformed--

For, thru Interaction,

Is accomplished

A Fusion of Purpose

And a growth of

The Limited Self

By our Interactions

There is created

A Universal Self

Thru out all Time and Space

There is only one Being

Having -- One Body

and

One Soul

Its Body is

The Universe

Its Soul lives in its

Consciousness

Its Awareness of -- Itself !

Existence is United

And --Personified--

In a Greater Living Form

This Being that is

Reflected in

The Consciousness of Unity

--UNUS--

The Mirror Image

Of Our Self

IMAGINE

There is a

Form of Consciousness

To Each and Everything

The Rock is Conscious

Of Solidarity

The Daisy of the Spring

Imagine the Perspective !

What Thoughts to us Unfold

When the Insensitive is

Sensitized

And Existence,

Considered Whole

THE HEREAFTER

The Universe is

A vast, vast Place

And yet

Despite its great expanse

There is No Room

For the Meaningless

And without a Redeeming Purpose

The Individual

Will Soon Die

There is No Reason

For an "After Life"

No Logic to Support

A "Paradise"

Where the Soul may

Forever Dwell

This World is all we

Will ever know of

Heaven

And all we need of Hell --

SUSAN --

OPPORTUNITY

Necessity is

the Mother of Invention

And Opportunity is

its Father --

Try to be Creative with only one

And your Offspring will all

be Sterile

Still Born and Lifeless,

Dead at their Inception --

SUBMISSION

How many Insults she endured

She did not dare to say

But none of therm so great

as this ....

The one that turned her lips

to clay. 11

LILACS

In Their

Youthful Splendor

They Grow Abundantly

Spreading Joy

In Vast Profusion --

Their Gentle Beauty

Graces The Land

With All The Hope

And The Promise

Of Life's

Inviting Sweet Illusions --

But In Just

A Few Swift Turns

Of The Earth

Upon Its

Axis

Their Lusters gone

Their Beauty Spent

And They Reach

Their Fates Conclusion --

They Lose Their Innocence

Their Petals Fail

And Like So Many

Faded Hopes And Dreams

They Rest,

Withered On The Vine,

Dead

In Sad Confusion --

FROM OUT OF THE ASHES

Dark clouds boil above --

Lightning rips the air --

Thunder rolls across the sky --

Nature is in Turmoil

A City is Destroyed

The proud buildings --

Down

The years of construction

Centuries of tradition --

Destroyed

The great City is humbled

This place of Hope, place

Of Dreams -- Gone!

In one blinding flash!

In one hot instant!

Millions of Homes, Millions

Of Lives -- Consumed

It is the Cost of War

The Final Reckoning of Hate

A lone Survivor stumbles by

Dazed and blackened

Charred and bleeding

Wandering thru the Ruins

He is searching for his Love

He falls, to lay

Among the stones

Too weak to stand

He raises his head

Forces his weary eyes

To continue searching --

Before him

Dark clouds part --

Blue sky is seen --

In a blaze of Sunlight,

He sees her

She is standing atop

A heap of rubble

With the wind

Blowing thru her hair

Her dress all torn and

Blood stained

She smiles and

Holds out her hand to him

His pain is great --

Loves Strength is greater --

He begins to crawl

Over the broken stones

Leaving a trail of blood behind him

He makes his way -- to her

He nears the summit

(The tall buildings

Are beneath him now

The proud Ascension

Lays

Crumbled into Dust)

He approaches

She reaches down to him

Their fingers touch --

Electric!

She takes his hand

And -- They Are Free!

From out of the ashes

They arise --

They ascend to the sky --

They soar thru the Heavens!

Before them is Forever!

Their Destiny --

To walk among the Stars

To know the Joys of Eternal

Peace

To drink from Fires of Creation

To share Eternity --

Together.

THE WAY OF WAR --

THESE THINGS

The Fires of War

Burn bright

And I am drawn towards

The Intensity of

The Flames

There are some who Mock Me

And tell me not to be

A Heroic Fool

They bid me to Run Away

To hide from

The Horrors and

The Living Nightmare

That is War

They do not understand

The motivations

That compel me

The Reasons Why

I must go

There are Others

Who praise me

And say

I'm doing my

Patriotic Duty

As I march off to War

They too, are confused

And do not understand

The Reason Why --

I Must Fight

I Go To Defend My Own

I Will Fight To Defend--

My People

My Homeland

Our Faith

and

Our Way Of Life

These are the things

That I am Living For

And if need be

I will Die For

(I may fall in Combat

But I am only

One small part of

These things

And they will all

Live On ...

Even if I should die)

These are the things

I will fight for

Just these things

And nothing more

These Things

That Are All

Worth The Living

And

The Dying For

VIOLENCE

Violence is only

One Level of Interaction

It differs by its Intensity

Not its Usefulness

It is not Inherently Evil

It simply is --Intense--

For those who fear

The Definitive --

Violence is Offensive

Repulsive to Contemplate

But for those of Personal

Honesty

Violence is not a Sin

But is only one more Option

In the vast Arsenal of Means

OBJECTIVES

The Purpose of War

Is to Kill and to Destroy

To restore a Balance

To Existence

And bring Order

To the Affairs of Man

To cut thru

All the Crap

And put a bullet

In the head

Of everything

That is False

To establish --

The Order of the Gun

and

The Law of Ruthlessness

To demand--

By Violence, Blood Shed

And Force of Arms

That Natures Way

Of Impersonal Determination

Hold Dominance Over All

TRAINING

The Cost of Education is High

Experience is the Greatest

Teacher

And the most Enduring Lessons

Are those Taught by Despair --

If you would be

"Well Educated"

Then shed the grand

Pretensions

Of Institutes and Degrees

Turn away

From lofty Doctrines

That float like

Whiffs of Perfume

On the Air

Train yourself in

Hardship

Till all Pretense dies

Then Graduate

To a new Perspective

And learn to be Honest

With Yourself

(If you dare ...)

TO THE MARK

The Measure Of A Soul

Is In Adversity

Not In Peaceful Times

But --

In The Test Of Combat

At Risk Of Life And Limb

There You'll See The Value

The Worth That Is Within

DISCIPLINE

There is an Understanding

That Comes from Suffering --

It has the Weight of Wisdom

Taught thru hard Despair

A Form of Enlightenment

Won from darkest Care

Without it there is Chaos --

Passions, wild, run

The End is the Beginning

And Thoughts become undone

With it, there is Order

And peaceful Harmony

More Meaning for our Lives

For the Soul -- Serenity !

It is -- Discipline

The Knowledge Of Right and

Wrong

The Precepts that can

Guide us

And help make the Weakest

-- Strong !

A SOLDIERS DEATH

I am only Mortal

It is not a question

Of whether I will die

But only

When ...

I choose to die

In Combat

To spend my Life

For a Noble Purpose

To accomplish

Something of Value

With my Life ...

And with my Death

Some urge me

To use caution

And live a Great long time

But I choose to die

--All at Once--

And not by

Bits and Pieces

As some would have me do

Some

Would have me

Live in Peace

And seek to preserve

My Flesh

But save myself for what?

I ask of you --

The Injuries of Peace

Do not appeal to me

I don't want to suffer

From Heart Attack, Stroke

Or Cancer.

Diabetes, Syphilis

Or worst of all

The Slow Rot of Old Age

No !

I choose to live

A Soldiers Life

And risk Death

Frequently

To die

A Soldiers Death

To die quickly

On the Field of Battle

Without Sorrow or Remorse

For what might

Have been,

If only I had lived.

COUP DE GRACE

Hurt does not diminish

As it goes from Soul to Soul

Instead it spreads its Suffering

In Circles that ever larger grow

The Circles keep expanding

Up to the Edge of Time

Based on Hatred and Animosity

They have their own Sadistic Rhyme

It is not an Act of Kindness

To prolong Suffering --

Let those who are In Need

Find Relief In Death

Take the situation in hand

Do what --Must Be Done--

As an Act of Mercy

Kill Them Where They Stand

ON PARTING

The Dead present

A Problem

They are quite

Troublesome

The change in

Their Demeanor

Has left our Senses

Numb

Desperately we cling

To them

Altho they would

Be Gone

Separate from Existence

The Memories

Linger on --

At their side

We sit and morn

Till Flowers Fail

Petals fall and

We can cry no more

Then, not knowing

How to care for them

These Wrecks

Of Flesh

And Mortal Doom

We dress them

In their Finery

And seal them

In a Tomb

And, as their Names

Are added

To the Lists of Clay

We feel the Earth

Begin to Tremble

As we turn and walk

Away

Leaving us alone

Our Memories

To review

And a Lifetime

To content with

The Wounds

That never heal --

DESPAIR --

DEATH CHANT

Explosions Rip The bodies

They Toss Them In The Air

They Desecrate The Living

The Dead No Longer Care

The Napalm Rains Are Falling

The Winds Of Suffering Blow

The Fires Of Hell Are Calling

There's Killing Yet To Go

The Armies Now Are Marching

Their Training Is Complete

There Will Be Sterner Lessons

When They In Combat Meet

As Footsteps Hit The Pavement

Seeds Of Destruction Sow

They're Sounding Out The

Cadence

There's Killing Yet To Go

The Battle Ships Are

Cruising

Death Servants On Patrol

The Aircraft Busy Launching

Add Further To The Toll

The Waters All Are Troubled

More Menace Lurks Below

Their Lethal Message Warning

There's Killing Yet To Go

The Stench Of War Is Rising

The Dead Are All Around

Near By My Friend Is Dying

His Life Spills On The Ground

Above The Jets Are Streaking

Their Violence Is Below

The Guns And Bombs Are

Speaking

There's Killing Yet To Go

I See The Tanks Are Coming

They're Crawling Thru The

Dead

Their Motors Softly Humming

Their Tracks All Stained

With Red

Their Guns Spit Fire And

Lightning

They Say What We All know

The War Machines Are Hungry

There's Killing Yet To Go

The Mushroom Clouds Are

Spreading

They Sweep Across The Land

They Will Remove The Danger

This Insolence Called Man

Their Legacy Will Linger

In Deadly After Glow

Repeating To The Darkness

There's Killing Yet To Go

I See The Unborn Children

They're Dead Within The Womb

Their Future Taken From Them

The Earth's Become A Tomb

Their Destiny Lays Buried

Beneath A Blood Red Snow

Their Silent Voices Question

More Killing Yet To Go?

More Killing, More Killing

More Killing Yet To Go?

THE CASUALTY

Close his eyes

They have seen enough of Strife

To last him for all time

Lock up the lips,

Seal off the tongue

No need for words has he

Dull the ears

Soften the blows

That fell upon his Soul

Songs of Love, Sounds of Pain

They are all the same

--as Nothing-- to him now

Still the Heart

The Life Force -- Departs

The beating slowly fades

The Urgent Needs -- Rescind

Others must carry

The fallen Banner

It has grown too heavy

For him to bear

Numb the Brain

Take away the Consciousness

That brightened all our days

Never again --

Will he share with us

The Wisdom of his Insight

The Tenderness of his Ways

The wild crest of Battle

Has swept past him

Leaving --Stillness-- in its wake

The great "Struggle" for him

Is over

The glorious "Cause" he does

Forsake !

None of it matters

Now that he is gone

Now that this

Masterpiece of Art

(Mind of Wonder

Body of Flesh and Bone)

Lays broken on the ground

None of it matters

Now that this Miracle

Called Life

Has been turned to Stone

CONCLUSION --

THE ANSWER

There are no Final Answers

Only endless Questioning

What was the (original)

Question?

We can only Guess

Debates continue on

Thru out Eternity

All resolving Nothing

But the Resolution of

Nothingness --

The Arguments Of War

Need No Circumspect

My Gun Speaks Very Clearly

The Language Of Death

We meet in Mortal Combat

To Kill or To Be Killed

Perhaps to kill each other

Leaving nothing to be said --

(Life was -- the Question.

Death is -- the Answer.)

IN TRANSIT

And so it ends --

Just yesterday everything was fine --

Birds were singing, flowers blooming --

The World was a beautiful place --

A Paradise in which to live --

Then there came "The War"

With all its Wild Consumption --

And now everything is gone --

Devastated and Destroyed --

The Earth is now a Wasteland --

Our Home's become a Tomb --

Is there no Place of Peace?

No Shelter for Love or Kindness?

Must each step forward be met,

With a million years of retreat?

Must each Spark of Intellect,

Be met by a Holocaust Of Hate?

Is Consciousness Forever Doomed?

Endlessly searching and Failing --

To find a Sanctuary from Itself.

Must Life always be Self Consuming?

Somewhere in the Depths of Space --

Nestled Safe in its Planetary Womb --

There dwells a higher Form of Consciousness --

In Embryo, Just Waiting to be Born --

How many Ages has it waited?

How many more must Pass?

Before it can Emerge, this Child of Destiny --

And with its Birth Cry, announce --

The Fulfillment of Evolutionary Struggle !

The Birth of our Universal Self !

UNUS

WAR WOUNDS (The Poems of Mars)

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