I wake to see Venus gleaming as the sky lightens from indigo to azure. The goddess of love beckons and beseeches, but the war god always wins.
Morning star rises
heralds the poppy-red dawn–
November morning
Senseless wars go on,
honoring in fall parades
stars blaze, flash, and die
Vincent van Gogh, Poppy Field, [Public Domain] Wikipedia
This is for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday–Poet’s Choice of Words, and Frank’s Haikai challenge using the prompt, “Armistice.”
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
Our wars are just a blink of the eye for a star.
That’s true.
🙂
Indeed so true. My husband is an amateur astronomer. Listening to him talk about the stars and galaxies reminds me that we are just a blink of the eye for the universe. Keeps me humble 😉
Yes. And even on Earth, humans have only existed for a blink.
It should humble the leaders who start wars, but it never does.
And when you realize that some of them can’t even handle a light rain …
And to the leaders, everyone else is just cannon fodder anyway.
You mean they might not have been able to cope with the mud, and the rats and the…blood?
😉
Well except for this guy: https://www.bbc.com/news/43202075 He just doesn’t like rain. Rain does bad things to your hair. I wonder how many wars we would have if the leaders calling for war actually had to fight in them, bone spurs and all.
Yes, I saw this already and understood. He is just a waste of oxygen without any redeeming value.
Simple answer—none. I hadn’t seen that little gem from Trump. It beggars belief. And people actually voted for that… thing?
Unfortunately, too many.
I can’t believe this character is so, have to say it, vulgar, in the sense of being totally devoid of culture.
It is hard to believe, and he is. The only thing he seems good at is lying and bragging about himself.
But he’s so illiterate! When we hear him on the radio here, the interpreter puts beautifully constructed phrases in his mouth. We hear what he’s really saying and it’s incoherent rubbish with a very limited vocabulary. Hearing him describe the first world war as a ‘horrible war’ made me squirm. Is that the best adjective he could find?
I wish I could answer. I can’t stand to listen to him, and I try to avoid doing so as much as possible! He picks a word and repeats it over and over, but his vocabulary is limited. There’s a big difference when he’s reading a prepared speech. AND people still think he’s great. I just want to bang my head–and theirs–against a wall.
It seems as though he’s driving a wedge through the country. It’s what the demagogues are doing everywhere, bringing out the really nasty side of human nature. I don’t think it’s that people are being led astray. Intelligent people like this kind of ugly thinking too.
I think some people are being led astray because they are ignorant and just believe him, but others willingly follow–or they like the direction he’s taking things, so they put up with him.
It’s true that we hear things like ‘I like him, he talks like an ordinary guy.” Most politicians don’t come over as intellectuals though, they all speak in pretty accessible language. It’s that he makes the kind of crude comments men make in bars when they’ve had to much to drink.
I’d say he’s a pig, but that insults the animal.
I like pigs.
Pigs can be very cute.
And they are very intelligent animals.
yes, and always hope for peace
Yes.
Senseless wars go on but life out in the universe continues. Lovely poem, Merril.
Thank you very much, Marie.
Perfect poem for today, Merril.
Thank you, Dale.
The reference to red poppies is perfect. Very fitting tribute, Merril.
Thank you, Marian.
Reblogged this on Frank J. Tassone and commented:
#Haiku Happenings #6: Merril’s latest #haibun for Colleen’s #weekly #tanka #poetry challenge and my own current #haikai challenge!
Thank you, Frank!
Astute observations.
Senseless wars go on and on and we never seem to learn!
You are so right!
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Oops, did not write here or I didn’t push post back on Sunday Veteran’s Day, Merril. Maybe I wrote about the beautiful sky you described and senseless wars on Instagram or FB (?!) Hugs and wishing for Peace, no more innocent bystanders to a man’s angry reactions to life! 🕊️✌️💕
Thank you, Robin. 🙂
You’re welcome, Merril. 🙂 🤗
Beautiful Haikus! So much truth to them. Love the artwork too. 😀
Aww–thank you so much, Vashti!
You’re welcome. 😀
Ah, if only the goddess of love ruled the world! Beautiful opening to your poem, Merril. Yes, war is senseless, indeed…. couldn’t agree more! I just read an excellent article by Caitlin Johnstone who wrote: The best way to honor war veterans is to stop creating them.
Thank you, Rose. Yes, Caitlin Johnstone is so right!
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