laugh last

there are too many dead
too many have paid the price
too many have suffered and
swollen in the sun

mangled babies in war torn streets,
dead by the hands of man,
machines of men, mowed over
during the wars of men

I had been told that the only
two guarantees in life are death
and taxes,
but war should be mentioned too

someone is always trying to
blow up someone else for some
such thing or another-
they'll drop the bombs and
wait for the fallout,
they'll fire the weapons and
hope for a hit-
they'll trip over the bodies to
get at the next

propaganda turns the stomach,
always a cause, always an enemy
trying to snuff out our freedom,
take away our money
when the MAN seems to be
doing a pretty damn good job
of it on HIS own

the quest for power is brutal

it is nothing more than madness

it sours the soul

it ends with vengeance

yet we continue, and there's always
someone waiting to fight the good
fight, waiting to lift a rifle and murder
others in this never ending search
for freedom and wealth and democracy

we can pretend all we want that war
is necessary, but what it comes down to
is bullies bullying other bullies until they
finally submit to the bull

let's face it, we make the wars because
we're losing the argument
and guns are brought up when the tongue
is too weak to win

it's nothing more than a street fight with
bigger weapons, bigger war chests, and
bigger balls
we eventually pay off the loser and rebuild
their cities and pay off their newly appointed
officials to play ball for cash prizes and pay
off their citizens to look the other way

there will be a time when we're all looking
the other way and they'll snuff us out too-
someone will build a bigger, better gun to
take care of us too