Collateral Damage Poem by Francis Duggan

When I hear the words collateral damage I for one do not feel amused
As is in the case of the deaths of innocent people in wars these words too often used
To the value of human life very demeaning and to the war mongers to apologize would seem loss of face
The World without red necked so called leaders would surely be a better place.

Collateral means descended from the same stock or connected
And the words collateral damage human life demean
Used mostly in the deaths of civilians in modern warfare no such thing as clean
I do not like words used in such a manner they add insult to the bereaved heartbreak
In war I only see the worst of evil for human life is never man's to take.

They use the words of collateral damage as if this will excuse their wrongs away
Yet they only seem to magnify the terror that we are growing accustomed to today
Collateral damage when used in such a manner the sacredness of human life destroy
The bomb survivors linger on and suffer and in their agony are doomed to die.

When used in the context of war the words collateral damage
are words the war dogs use to justify
The deaths of innocents of the city they are bombing by stray bombs that are dropped from the night sky,
They talk of their innocent victims as if they were stocks or bonds and they cheapen human life when such things they say
And those who talk of collateral damage are the World's greatest terrorists of today.