War Is Not A Poem Poem by Shalom Freedman

WAR IS NOT A POEM

War is not a poem-
Death is not a poem-
Destruction is not a poem-
Kindness is a poem,
But how can one make the unkind, kind?
Cruelty is not a poem,
But how can one make the cruel- kind?
We are in a war with a cruel people
We are a kind people
But to be in war is to be cruel
Even against one’s best intentions.
We do not want war
But they are cruel
And we try to survive-
War is not a poem
Even when we are in it.