War is a mug’s game
My father said to me
As British soldiers set off Falklands bound
Nobody wins
Everybody loses
I have remembered ever since
My father’s words
My father’s words are sound
I fought with Tony Knowles one time
In our own school yard
A man of peace but he provoked me so
We battled to a standstill
No one won or lost
Honours even
Why now come to blows!
Six years my father fought a war
Royal Artillery
Long range snipers they were called
Firing guns and all
Didn’t solve the issue of why we went to war
In fact the final outcome
Was worse than it was before
We work for justice in this world
For justice not revenge
Revenge is just another schoolyard brawl
Resist the impulse to strike back
Let justice be your true attack
Walk gently in this world
And so walk tall
Brian Fahy
27 August 2021
Erris Poetry 