Mortal Enemies

Mortal Enemies               by Sami Khalil

A modern English sonnet…

Beneath the rubble of broken buildings

Glory of lives fading into lost claims

Muddy revenge misted by mass killings

Staggering in sorrows the blooded names.

 

Row after row laid out the dead bodies

Covered in white shrouds that turned to crimson

Biding time till the gates of heaven’s keys

Unlock their destination when gazes are done.

 

As we hold our breath in abject shock

Sits the “Butcher” of groupings glassy-eyed

Never swayed by guilt, resenting the flock

Growling like a rabid dog, exuding pride.

 

Losing count of victims…war-time countries

Should stop being the mortal enemies.

 

Reviews

[Jaffer]

Some urgent solution we need brother. The sheep are lost as the butcher goes on with kill. You laid out the story in blood. I'm hoping this to affect hearts.

[Sami Khalil]

Exactly what I intended brother Jaffer; nice name by the way. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
I hope God can soften hearts, open up wise minds.
But, I know, hard to reason when both sides are not willing.
God help us all.

[emmajoygreen]

If only the wars between factions in this or that country would and could stop, Sami. What is happening is - with a great many events, killing our planet. Heart breaking to see what war does, when people forget that war never deletes animosity, it just hardens each generation's resolve to win when- most of the time, there never can be a finite winner. Your words are worth reading over and over, reading aloud - staring into space to see what you so visually describe. Here in fact, you describe two wars which show how the future may well be - yet again. Kudos, Sami, this is a fine piece of writing.

[Sami Khalil]

Amazing review from an amazing poet; oh, how you said the truth in a sincere and understanding ways. I wish humans will find a better way to resolve their wars and grievances, but I'm afraid not. Lasting peace is hard to achieve, diplomacy is tough, give and take is out of the question, sharing violates greed and so forth
Thank you Emma for raising your voice , for this review.

[Vol]

Sami,
Thus it is, thus it has always been, and thus it will always be. Mankind is never ashamed of its bestiality. Sometimes we are exhausted and rest awhile, but only to refresh ourselves for more war.
Vol

[Sami Khalil]

Wow! So true and well said dear poet and friend. Sad indeed but true. I guess man is his own victim and victimizer. Thank you so much for your time and visit.

[Vol]

America since I was born...
Korea
Viet Nam
Panama
Grenada
Iraqread moreAmerica since I was born...
Korea
Viet Nam
Panama
Grenada
Iraq
Bosnia
Somalia
Afghanistan
Iraq
Syria
Black Ops everywhere.

[Sami Khalil]

Wow! You are telling the truth.
We need to tend to our business, help our people here, stop foreign wars and genocides, spend tax-payers money in the US, stop being the police of the world, stop the slide to nuclear Armageddon that is coming.

[FGFRANKLIN]

Individuals make friends while governments make wars. The evil of hatred is universal but what the hatred is directed towards and why can vary greatly. It is right and well to hate ignorance, the tyranny of oppression, slavery, prejudice, lies, vanity, corruption and greed. But to take up arms against these moral injustices means to take arms against the perpetrators of these injustices. The fact is that to combat evil one must engage it. There is no place to run and hide from it and left untended it will grow exponentially until it consumes the whole of humanity and digests the very marrow of human dignity in its greed. For evil to conquer does not require that good men should become evil. It only requires that good men do nothing. We cannot have or hope to have any form of civilization without respect to basic human rights. But in the course of war all human rights of the enemy, including the right to life, are forfeited. I went to a construction site once and the place was a complete mess but later it was a new building. Things sometimes get torn down in the course of reconstruction. In war, lives get torn down, torn apart, broken. It would be best if there were no war...or evil, or greed, or hatred, or tyranny, or oppression...

[Sami Khalil]

Javajavaya! So true and well articulated dear poet and friend. You covered the truth about our human history and modern times; all these things keep on repeating themselves. As you marvelously said, humanity should have strong building blocks, universal values, just moral standards, peaceful solutions to grievances and historic, religious animosity.
We are blessed to live in the country, many other countries too. Some are not as we know.
Let cooler heads prevail to bring mortal enemies to a just, fair and equitable solutions. It can be done. It is already on the UN books, Oslo accords in the case of Israel and Palestine. Also, we can help bring Russia and Ukraine into some kind of peaceful outcome. I see a nuclear Armageddon is on the way if no action of honest brokers can remedy those situations. Africa is changing too. Long subject.

[Chris Shaw]

The tragedy of our times. The innocents suffer while the warmongers thrive. Compassion is dead that’s for sure. Fine writing from the King of Sonnets. Let there be peace on earth.

Chris

[Sami Khalil]

OMG! You have summed it up marvelously. I love your wisdom on many topics and events.
Thank you so much Queen 👸 C for this amazing review.
Thank you for all the inspirations, insights and encouragement you give us. Keeps us raising our voices to bring peace and people together.

[Chris Shaw]

Oh Sami. I am humbled by the praise you have heaped on me. Thank you truly for your kindness:) You have brought sunshine to a dull wet day.

[Sami Khalil]

Deservedly so. You are welcome

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you again:)

[Sami Khalil]

Gracie millee ......

[Ken Simm.]

“Want of imagination makes things unreal enough to be destroyed. By imagination I mean knowledge and love. I mean compassion. People of power kill children, the old send the young to die, because they have no imagination. They have power. Can you have power and imagination at the same time? Can you kill people you don’t know and have compassion for them at the same time?”
― Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter
You have compassion.

[Sami Khalil]

Wow! So true and well articulated dear poet and friend. Knowledge is general power. Knowing is private power. Compassion is universal power. Love is a heavenly power.
Hate is an excluding, evil power.
Take a pic.

[Sami Khalil]

Take a pick.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

A most appropriate sonnet of our times Sami. You capture the essence of the futility of such wars and the sad fact ordinary people are victims.

[Sami Khalil]

Howdy do! So true and well said dear poet and friend. We must stop the senseless killings, the religious hatreds, the culture of revenge.
There are solutions on the table but the hardliners on both sides do not desire then or heed them as Jacob said; hence wars and rumors of wars will continue.
Thank you kindly for sharing your thoughts and experiences.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

But unfortunately they don't stop.
This must be said...if only it would be heeded.
j.

[Sami Khalil]

You are so right sir Jacob! Was throwing my voice out there to change few minds and hearts, for cooler heads to prevail in this madness, historic tit for tats cycle of revenge, religious hardliners and so forth.