A Loyal Foe

Tis, of man, a companion menacing,

‘Tis what, since the descent of man,

The world has been witnessing.

‘Tis the visible, even realized, foe,

That turns man into a motley tribe. And lo!

Destruction, devastation, obliteration,

And ruin. Death, injury, and suffering—

The gifts of this loyal friend,

Who never leaves our side,

Stands by us in the most difficult times,

Teaches us lessons and teaches some novel crimes.

If a loyal friend you want to see,

This one is. It, we also may call our scribe.

For, of man’s own blood, it writes,

In the countless pages of history,

The infinite instants of time,

Of man, mankind, a tragedy.

And that loyal friend,

Plus a loyal foe,

That visible yet mysterious being—

That, ‘tis War.

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