War Is Kind [excerpt]
by Stephen Crane
Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die
The unexplained glory flies above them
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom--
A field where a thousand corpses lie.
Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Swift, blazing flag of the regiment
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die
Point for them the virtue of slaughter
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.
Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16409
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2 comments:
Yeah I read this 3 times and had someone else read it too. I still dont really get how war is kind. I'm guessing it has something to do with "These men were born to drill and die" but cant really explain how.
I think its about losing someone in war a husband or a son, and how war really isnt kind. War is manipulated to look patriotic and heroic. Most people dont see the hardships war brings, they only look at it as something postive and that had to be done.
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