To The Generals Poem by Daniel Thomas Moran

You must take.
It is your nature.

You must
take down,
take away,
take leave.

You must
empty and spend,
even waste.

We have come to see
You will not be denied.
But please is all I can say.

Do Not Take My Son.

Not his legs or arms,
not an eye or thumb,
not his heart or his mind.

He is not yours to spend.

Should you insist,
you should know,

I could not face
one day more, knowing
that I had let you do it.