I sat and pondered

I sat and pondered

I sat and pondered about this life that we live
I thought about globalization and the promises it should give
I saw mankind being ground to a pulp in a rat race only to die
selling whatever principles of life, to struggle to just eke on by.

The idleness of unemployment and the crime and misery that it brings,
the desire for more for some, and for others the want to just be a part of this thing
that we call life.  To make a difference, because deep down we know
that we are here for some reason, and we get frustrated as that feeling grows.

I watched my country go to war, like many others have gone before.
Stern and righteous, in our cause we were sure,
quick to judge and in our righteousness rapid to kill,
innocent civilians and mothers of soldiers would ultimately pay the butcher’s bill.

A soldier myself, I sat and pondered
on the destruction of our cities, and with them, our way of life and liberties.
Thousands dying for causes for which they had no clue,
passions flaring, religions trumpeting, “Give to God what is his due”.

Confused I looked to Lady Liberty, her torch had always been a shining light.
Our phones were tapped, our liberties usurped, her light this night was not bright.
Freedoms gained over centuries of time and struggle lost overnight.
Done by political fiat, by those who think with certainty that they know what’s right.

We now kept prisons from our justice system outside
the USA, so that from our own laws and courts we could hide.
Our nation was based on the rule of law, that all men are created equal.
Now we argue about the definition of torture, as if it were legal.

Do the ends really justify the means?  Sounds like something from a rogue state.
Does the pursuit of oil justify a policy of invasion? That can be a great debate.
How does that differ from empires of old, or even from our adversaries of decades past?
When we would rise to defend freedom, the world thankful that we were steadfast.

Now driven by oil, and a god of greed,
confident in our might, to caution we took no heed.
Forgetful of all our forefathers had learned through painful the lessons of history,
without the hearts and minds of the people, how can one have a lasting victory?

Yet slowly Love began to once again make its force felt
A child’s smile, a neighbor’s hello, the fear mongering ice began to melt.
I watched as those who showed patriotism by standing in the truth of peace.
Slowly they began to be heard by many, and sanity began to have a new lease.

I sat and pondered on the events of my life
My career in the Army, my country, my children and my loving wife
That our strength as a nation in wealth and military might 
is small indeed to the power of liberty’s shining light

Love still triumphs, even as cynics shout at us and mankind.
“You are fools and dreamers, dangerous and naive”, they do opine.
Yet even the loudest of the harbingers of war and immediate action,
can’t help but be touched, by a child’s loving passion.

We are one people, joined in love,
somewhere deep within our beings we know there is something above.
The hate and drum beats that assault our senses
A higher purpose in life perhaps, that sometimes knocks down the fences
that we build to protect ourselves from our anxieties and fears
yet can keep us from the love of life, which in our higher being we hold dear.

Even as I heard the bugle call, and knew it was time to fall in and to stand up tall
My comrades in arms getting ready for another day, our equipment checked out, we prepare to again stand in harm’s way
I know as a soldier, an officer, and a leader of men
that we will stay true and do our duty and this to will pass, and love will flow over the world once again

Because love is feeling of spring in the air, the smile of a child, the look and help from people who care
Love is the music that sings in the back of my brain, the friendship of my comrades, the courage that one uses to overcome pain
That life tries to present, full of fears and stresses and screams and shouts
Yet love, in the end, is what life is all about.

I sat and pondered, that day in my life
and smiled.