The Hard Way: poems on war

By James Sawers

"When tanks roll across borders. When tanks roll down hometown streets. When you see that the treads of tanks are encrusted with the remains of family, friends, neighbors, children, even the fucking family dog. When rockets blaze the air. When all around you is death and destruction. THEN you hear the international community call for peace, call for the end of bloodshed. But whose blood? Certainly, not the invader's blood. At this moment of maximum hate and despair, outsiders call for a laying down of arms, for a truce, for an end to conflict. The defenders are not allowed their own bloodletting. To see the invaders bleed. To hear their cries of pain and suffering. To see the invader's own homes and families destroyed. To see them all die. War doesn't have to be rational. War doesn't have to be sane. But war, war has to be just, it has to be balanced. An eye for an eye, measure for measure, tit for tat, blood for blood. Or, just pure, plain revenge, payback. But overall, a sense of justice has to exist, a vast tallying of the human cost, of blood spilled. A one-sided tally sheet cannot, will not, be tolerated for long"
Prof. Lucy Nalangu

Such a viewpoint is not that unusual, in fact, it is common, and needs to be taken into consideration in human conflict (resolution) - hopefully, even before a conflict actually arises. Otherwise, it breeds a festering hate, that can linger for generations. That tally sheet has to be accounted for. This book explores this and other aspects of war.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0DT1JF2J4
• ISBN13: 9798306513744
• Release Date: January 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 166 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.0" x 8.0"