Konstantinos Konstantinidis \u2013 Amphiktyon<\/p>\n\n\n\n
War is no patch to tear away,
but wounds that open, never stay;
it shakes the markets, stirs the throne,
and makes the weak atone\u2014alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once it begins, none truly know
how far it spreads, how deep the blow;
who lives, who dies, what\u2019s left to see,
what life remains of what will be.
\u201cWar fathers all\u201d\u2014so sages tell,
yet it forges earth into a hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who dares ignite that fatal flame
must weigh it well before the blame;
before the steel his flesh shall meet,
before the innocent burn in heat.
For arrogance demands its due\u2014
by gods and men repaid, and true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A leader\u2019s burden must be wise:
no conquest cloaked in soothing lies;
before you march through fire\u2019s door,
ask the oracle once more:
\u201cIf not for homeland, just and right\u2014
do not begin this deadly fight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
War is no jest\u2014it twists the whole,
no turning back, no steady goal;
like fire it runs where winds command,
and drags the doomed to death\u2019s cold land.
Yet some grow rich in chaos grim,
sharp hawks who profit from the dim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One by one they join the dance,
while fate conducts its dark romance;
and when the music plays askew,
Hormuz grows narrow\u2014leaders fall too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Gulf\u2014the womb of wealth untold\u2014
yet Ares waits in straits of gold;
if birth goes wrong, he strikes the spark,
and sets the world itself to dark.
Fool is he who dares to try\u2014
\u201ca black hole waits,\u201d the seers would cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poseidon, too, will claim his right:
no ship shall sail, no guiding light;
the sea and sky with poison filled,
the trembling world in silence stilled.
And like a Gorgon, cold and grim,
the Gulf will turn all life to stone within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They built on sand their fragile reign,
when oil runs dry, all hope is vain;
no tourist sun, no golden shore
shall save what was as once before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
War hardens hearts, breaks flesh and bone,
leaves some to die, some maimed, alone;
and in a nuclear, final breath,
what lives will shadow walk with death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The arrogant sees none above,
his tongue outruns the mind thereof;
as if a demon leads his way\u2014
three nations suffer day by day:
Iran, Lebanon, Israel\u2014
in grief and fire, their stories dwell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The masses move like herded sheep;
strike down the shepherd\u2014none to keep;
the fold will fall to foreign hand\u2014
such madness rules the shaken land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Power hides beyond the sight:
in \u201cdemocracies\u201d masked as right,
in theocracies ruled by fear,
where truth dissolves and fades unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few enlightened voices stand,
against the warlords of the land;
yet systems crush them, bind them tight,
or cast them silent out of sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No more Gaza, no more chain,
no veil of fear, no endless pain;
the young cry out for liberty\u2014
yet drown in crisis endlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cmighty one\u201d has missed his way,
by lesser giants led astray;
he struck the head\u2014yet flames arose,
and nuclear shadow nearer grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No plan, no wisdom paved the road,
he struck an ancient, hardened node;
he bombs, yet still the foe remains,
deep in the earth, through loss and pains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now in the Gulf\u2019s consuming night,
he strikes without a guiding sight;
while humankind for power cries,
and wealth in burning ruin lies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hormuz now bound, a captive gate\u2014
agreements broken, trust too late;
fanatics stand with vengeance sworn,
where peace is lost and rage is born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They\u2019ve nothing left to lose or save,
they run through tunnels, grave to grave;
and when all falls, when dust is spread\u2014
if some still live among the dead,
perhaps at last, with clearer sight,
they\u2019ll learn the cost of endless fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(24\/3\/26)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amphiktyon \u2013 Major General (ret.) Konstantinos Konstantinidis Konstantinos Konstantinidis \u2013 Amphiktyon War is no patch to tear away,but wounds that open, never stay;it shakes the markets, stirs the throne,and makes the weak atone\u2014alone. Once it begins, none truly knowhow far it spreads, how deep the blow;who lives, who dies, what\u2019s left to see,what life remains of what will be.\u201cWar fathers all\u201d\u2014so sages … <\/p>\n
Writer, Member of the Society of Greek Writers
http:\/\/www.amphiktyon.blogspot.com<\/a>
amphiktyon.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"