Contemplation of War
by Michael Doyle

There are times to pause and wait,
When a poet breathes and contemplates.
What are the pieces and how each connects,
And what, pray tell, will come next?

It is easy enough to flex and show raw power.
But after initiation, what will control the hour?
To this heart and mind, peace is the preference.
The decision to stand and fight comes with reverence.

There is gravity in this evolving situation.
There is much love for the older Iranian nation.
But there is also the need to never forget
We must take measures to eliminate an endless threat.

Asked from the frozen sea, invisible but within
Needless death is a savage and brutal form of sin.
Still, the fight did not start on our side.
It's boiled over for decades, and at last we collide.

The flames ignite, and poetry saves power from itself,
I sit here poring over volumes from my bookcase shelf.
Knowing the world as being at a point of vivid choice.
A choice in which gravity demands we take up a voice.

In a coronation of troubles, we descend into reality,
Knowing that, however right our cause, there is fatality.
And the hunger for justice will have its terrifying price.
In the end, dear Lord, I pray it will warrant the sacrifice.

(c) February 28, 2026   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved