Afghanistan,Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia,
Myanmar, South Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Ukraine
to name a few where war is hell
due to shelling missiles and bombs.
Roaming tanks and armored vehicles
hauling troops shoot civilians at will:
children hiding in shelters,
adults seeking bread,
pregnant women giving birth.
Destruction of hospitals and schools
creates a living hell.
And while wise heads of state debate
wars continue unabated,
except for the acts of the truly courageous
whom we all agree do not deserve such fate.
Look deeper where no bombs yet fall
to places where despots and bullies stand tall.
The USA, the UK, France, Hungary et al.
Leaders elected but never impeached by an electorate
which loves hostility in its games and entertains
itself with harsh rhetoric and hate,
sexist and racist snipes and attacks
against those who disclose white men lack
a claimed true supremacy, used for centuries
to hold top of place in every endeavor.
Even in hearings selecting Supreme Court Justices
white supremacy seeks to trump the most sage.
White men, and women too, wage
war with words on FOX News and in media
unused to being used as propaganda tools.
Facebook, Meta, Twitter, Tik Tok
and others are weapons of war before
other armaments become necessary
in a place where votes set agenda for democracy.
Ukraine is the not the start of the Third World War.
Ukraine is the first place democratic patriots fight back.
All democracies have been under word and cyber attack.
Stop the gaslit words. Stop the hate.
Stop the lies. Stop the insider attacks
on nomination of candidates, elections
and sacred halls of government.
Contemplate truth and defend it
before lethal attacks increase
and weapons of war become legal,
unlicensed and hidden from view
until they are used to attack you
and those we need to guide us through
World War Three.
We who love our democracy
are counting on you.
annarino writes 