When The Bullets Fly

An observation on the pointlessness of war and the increasing levels of terrorist violence in today's world.

When the guns come out and the bullets start flying,

And the blood begins to flow, and people start dying,

You need to take a step back, and ask yourself why,

Is there any good reason for people to die?

There are certainly monsters in need of killing,

And there are always men who are more than willing,

To murder innocents in the name of a cause,

Or to slaughter millions in acquisitive wars.

When you scale it down to the personal level,

Is it the nature of man or the work of the Devil?

The cycle of violence is driven by passion and greed,

By those who covet far more than they need.

Historically and increasingly it is about religious fanatics,

Who preach holy writ while building bombs in their attics.

Unable to tolerate different beliefs,

They murder the innocent, cause nothing but grief.

Each day brings news of another atrocity,

Mass murders committed with increasing ferocity,

The mindless need to spread fear and death,

Making it ever harder to draw a calming breath.

As for the men of violence, what have they won?

You cannot get love at the point of a gun.

Their reward for spreading terror and hate,

Is a hole in the ground and the eternal wait.

© 2017 The Iron Horseman

Reviews

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Amazing and powerful poetic work that is an indictment of all the evils plaguing the world . Gun violence, power, greed, corruption, rape, described vividly and eloquently. Great language, form, flow, imagery, cadence and musicality. Your message is important and meaningful, and I stand behind it. Kudos!

[The Iron Horseman]

Wow! Thank you for all those kind words, Annette.
And for the moral support. The world really is a mess, isn't it?

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

You’re very welcome my friend! Yes, the penultimate mess I’d say.

[BBP]

I know I've reviewed this before but I enjoyed reading it again.

[The Iron Horseman]

Lol! Now, that makes me feel good! Thanks, BBP.

[Norman 223]

Your interest in writing songs adds a new dimension to this powerful condemnation of the world of political and religious fanaticism. It provides the ironical contrast of controlled thinking , compared with the irrational rhetoric that governs the actions of these zealots.

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you, Norman. That is a very interesting insight.

[Nipplegrinder]

Very well scribed, my friend. That a piece like this needs to be written, is a sad indictment of our world today.

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you again, my friend. I could not agree more. It is truly disturbing how many people are feeling this way nowadays!

[Maxwell Ryder]

What I hate most are the bald-faced lies they tell us to cover up the prosecution of this war. Poor people of Iran, Syria, and Iraq; they know we know it’s all bullshit and it’s for resources. Glad everyone knows the lies now though. At least we’ve moved that much. Great political piece. I like political poems.

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you, Maxwell. If you like political pieces see my poem 'The Politician". 'Disillusionment' is kinda fun too!

[Maxwell Ryder]

Will try and keep up. Thank you.

[BBP]

Confusion from us as to why and confusion in their mind to think anything that drastic and pointless is an act to take.

Unfortunately some people are just f*****g nuts and no explanation can back it.

[The Iron Horseman]

That sums it up very well! Witness, all the recent school shootings. As you say, nuts!

[BBP]

Right?! Too much exposure at such a young age and making a name is all kids care about...unfortunately they don't really care how as long as it ends up on a video that people see ...so sad.

[The Iron Horseman]

The whole damn world seems to revolve around media attention these days!

[BBP]

Really dig this piece. It is so painfully true. I love the flow and the rhyme and how you can feel the confusion of what such a crazy mind must be thinking.

[The Iron Horseman]

Thanks, BBP. I'm glad you picked up on that; not too many sense the confusion element.

[Travis Gibson (poetic h..]

Great execution of the topic in this piece. It tends to be a subject we'd rather speak about privately, or in the heat of boiling emotion. Strong write!

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you, Travis.

[Coyote Poetry]

I agree my friend.
"As for the men of violence, what have they won?
You cannot get love at the point of a gun.
Their reward for spreading terror and hate,
Is a hole in the ground and the eternal wait."
The above are true and no winners in war. Just dead cities and homeless people. Thank you for sharing the outstanding poetry.
Coyote

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you, Coyote my friend. I am glad you liked it. Your opinion means a lot to me.

[Coyote Poetry]

You are very kind and you are welcome.

[Lavi]

I don't know why but reading this reminded me of how in Terminator, John Connor was raised to be a war general to lead the human resistance, and in the third movie he carried a paintball gun disguised as a real one. I don't know, this just reminded me of the only "good" thing a gun could bring.
And what you're saying I agree, and I could quote Yoda all day long about it too. Well-done.

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you, Lavi.