How limited is man’s reason
at the best of times
in calm seas
when a light touch
is all the need?
Calm hand on the helm
as ships of state range
angry seas roiled and rolling
in waves of megalomania
matters even more,
while people plead for
even more power
as innocent citizens cower
in basements and tunnels,
where children are crying
and parents sighing
their inability to reach safety.
If answers were known
the problem would already be
solved for a frightened humanity.
There are no easy answers,
no negotiation nor compromise
when reason has become undone.
Questions such as those we face
can only be answered
by history, after becoming
stumbled upon by those whose reason
holds fast despite the blast
of missiles and bombs.
It is not only armaments unleashed
which make us stumble and fall;
also, reason undermined by tall
tales and lies which cloud
the road to freedom and the end of war.
We cannot pretend to know what will work.
Strategy cannot portend outcomes.
We are all in the dark ages now
hoping for reason to light a new way,
a renaissance to unfold
that the story to be told
will end with cheers and delight
of a world with greater insight.
annarino writes 