Virtue in War

Gate to Seoul

Innocence is the first casualty of war,
Truth itself flees long before.
The virtues largely all the same,
Withering away in the pyre’s flame.

Far-seeing Prudence sunders and frays,
Under the chaos of humanity’s violent phase.
Temperance becomes gluttony all the more,
Thinking victory comes through blood and gore.
Fortitude last longest but will eventually break,
As each person hits the limit of what they can take.
At start Justice is pursued and sometimes in the end found,
The in-between will justify starting the next round.
Blood and rage drive Purity away,
While Charity waits for a better day.
For a while Diligence is dutifully true,
But as the pressure builds, it erodes too.
Patience wears thin, then shatters apart,
As rage drives Kindness out of human hearts.
Humility cloaked in reverent modesty,
Withers as survival empowers “the me”.

Mankind may clash for honor or greed,
Fear itself, or religious creed.
In the rush to action much is lost,
Few politicians project the cost.
People are seldom surprised when wars begin,
Yet always shocked at what is gone in the end.

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