War Poems

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Vietnam War Museum
Korean War Museum
Military Museums
Travis Air Force Aviation Museum

Second ID Museum Camp Humphreys, Korea

 

I did not plan to write about war, particularly this war, which was a huge, strategic mistake just like the Iraq misadventure 23 years ago and the Afghanistan quagmire.

But war kept showing up—in headlines, speeches, tweets, bombs, and bodies  So much for the president who campaigned on the theme of ending US involvement in endless wars! .

The Vietnam War didn’t draft me, as I was a bit too young, but my father, who served in Hawaii, experienced the draft in the Korean War. .Growing up in Berkeley has made me a life-long skeptic of war proponents. Though  my wife served in the military, she fortunately retired before having to serve in a war zone.

These are my personal reflections and do not reflect any official views of my prior employers.

These poems are reactions, records, and refusals.

✅ Summary Table

Region	Poem Title	Primary Focus
Ukraine	Ukrainian Refugees Fleeing for their Lives in Ukraine	Refugees, bombardment
Ukraine	Ukraine Refugee Crisis	Civilian displacement
Afghanistan	Kabul Has Fallen	Taliban takeover, U.S. failure
Iraq / Global	Bombs Away	Aerial war, Baghdad
Global War	War What Is Good For?	Endless modern wars
Middle East	We Did Not Take Action to Start a War	U.S. escalation & rhetoric

Audio Clips  War Poems

Dogs of War

 

We Did Not Take Steps to End the War

 

Rumors of War

 

Nuclear War

We did not Start The War

Notes from the Age of Endless Conflict

 

I did not seek war as a subject.

It arrived anyway—through screens, speeches, sirens, and silence.

These poems are not strategies.

They are records of impact.

 

War always arrives with reasons.
It leaves with consequences.

 

IRAN‑FOCUSED POEMS (EXTRACTED MINI‑SET)

–––––––––––––––––––– BOMBS AWAY

The TV said the bombs were falling
All over Belgrade/Baghdad, Libya, Syria
And a thousand other lands
All over the world

The bombs were falling down
All over the place

Yes, the bombs were falling

And I thought
While walking down the street
Why?

Why yet again
Do we think we can bomb our way
Into peace and prosperity

Why, Oh God, do we need to bomb yet again
A country far away
For a purpose that is not our own

Oh, the President and the Secretary of State
They have their reasons
The Senators and Congressmen too

The soldiers, sailors and marines
All have their reason
To unleash the power and passion and danger
Of the horrible evil weight of the bombs

And the military industrial state
The deep state make a fortune
Selling the bombs to the government

Every bomb is a money maker
A million bucks per bomb
And they need millions of bombs

Bombs away

But the bombs don’t know
They don’t care who you are

All they do is fall and blow things up
And kill everything in their wake

That’s what bombs do
That’s the thing that bombs do

We don’t understand
It’s a bomb sort of thing

The bombs keep falling

The TV screen shows lights and show
And the bombs keep falling

The TV does not show
The innocent children
Who die tonight

Because the bombs fell

Were the children asked?
Were the mothers consulted?

No

The bombs don’t consult
They merely fall and kill and maim

And blow everything up in their sight

The bombs keep falling

And a million souls die

Satan in his lair
Is happy

He says to himself
The bombs keep falling

More and more people are drawn
To the dark side

The hatred and fear and violence

Keep it up

The bombs keep falling
And falling

And we walk around in our streets
Far away from where the deaths occur

The dead don’t scream out to us
We don’t care

The bombs don’t care

They keep falling

Doing their bomb thing

And I wonder, yes, I wonder
What price do we pay

As a human race

For the death, the destruction of the bombs

God is watching us and says to himself
They have chosen the bombs

Let them have them

Bombs away forever

We are in hell

Location: AllPoetry
https://allpoetry.com/poem/12813811-Bombs-Away-by-Jake-Aller
[allpoetry.com]

]

We Did Not Take Action to Start a War

 

it is a sad day in the world of ours
the leader of the U.S.
is turning into a gangster leader

threatening massive destruction on Iran
and other countries

including destroying cultural sites

not too long ago
such actions were condemned
by the United States

as long as ISIS and others did it

but if Trump does it
it is suddenly okay

although it is a war crime

telegraphing our moves
telling our enemies
what we are planning

the act of a truly stable genius

the president announcing
that he took action to start a war
claiming he did it to stop a war

every word is false
and everyone knows it

we are now going down
the Orwellian rabbit hole

American democracy dies
a thousand deaths

with every presidential tweet

Location: AllPoetry
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15096929-We-Did-Not-Take-Action-to-Start-a-War–by-Jake-Aller
[allpoetry.comoriginal poem We Did Not Take Action to Start a War

–––––––––––––––––––– WAR — WHAT IS GOOD FOR?

“War
Good god y’all
What’s it good for?
Nothing”

It seems that
We live in a world
Constantly at war

The Ukrainian war
The war in Israel
The war in Yemen

Wars all over Africa

The war on drugs
The war on poor people
The war on truth

Is civil war II coming soon?
Is World War III imminent?

Too many wars

The classic song says it all

Location: AllPoetry
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16679850-War-what-is-good-for–by-Jake-Aller
[allpoetry.com]

–––––––––––––––––––– RUMORS OF WAR

it seems that
we are in the end times

wars, and rumors of war

terrorism all around us

the dogs of war are restless

our dear leader
seems determined
to lead us

to the ultimate war

world war III looms ahead

Location: AllPoetry
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14772794-rumors-of-war-by-Jake-Aller
[allpoetry.com]

–––––––––––––––––––– MAKE LOVE NOT WAR

Make love not war
The old hippie adage
Has never been truer

Than in this day
Of savage war

Taking place
In the Ukraine

Where the murderous madman Putin
Unleashed his army

If only he were a lover
He would be making love
And not war

Location: AllPoetry
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16423373-Make-Love-Not-War-All-Poetry-by-Jake-Aller
[allpoetry.com]

–––––––––––––––––––– WHEN RUSSIA INVADED

the end of the world is coming
constant bombing

killing many
death aplenty

babies crying
bodies dying

the world imploded
on that date

Location: FanStory
https://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=1054495
[fanstory.com]

–––––––––––––––––––– BREVETTE

Trump tweets lies
Israel bombs Gaza

Houthi attack ships
Drones kill troops

U.S. bombs Iran

Politicians offer prayer
No one cares

I drink coffee
People drink wine

I wake up dead

Location: PoetrySoup
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/brevette_1621820
[poetrysoup.com]

–––––––––––––––––––– CHRISTMAS BOMBING IN NASHVILLE

There was a Christmas bomber
In Nashville one day

The silence from political leadership
Spoke volumes

If he were Muslim
If he were foreign

This would be called terrorism

But he was just sad

Soon forgotten

Location: Synchronized Chaos

Poetry from Jake Cosmos Aller

[synchchaos.com]

Skip to primary content

SYNCHRONIZED CHAOS

Interdisciplinary journal of art, music, culture, science & literature.

 

A Narrow Fire

WE DID NOT TAKE ACTION TO START A WAR
(U.S. threats against Iran, cultural sites, Orwellian rhetoric)

 

Kabul Has Fallen

Kabul has fallen
The news screams
Kabul has fallen
In less than two weeks

The intel officers
Got it so wrong
Everyone said
That Kabul would not fall
That the center would hold

Yet Kabul fell
Faster than anyone thought
It would

The right-wing media
Are having a field day
Screaming
Who lost Afghanistan

As if it was ours
To begin with

The Taliban
Are playing it cool
Taking control
Letting the Americans
Leave the countryUkrainian Refugees Fleeing for their Lives in Ukraine

 

Ukrainian Refugees Fleeing for their Lives in Ukraine

As the war in Ukraine continues,
Millions of refugees flee with a target on their backs.
They rush down the few open corridors left,
Looking at their gadgets for the latest information,
Hoping to live another day.

The refugee organization staff
Try to keep track of their movement
Amid the cracking of the bombs falling.

 

third poem about Ukraine war on the anniversary of the start of the war it has been two years now © Feb ’24, john Cosmos Aller      

 

Ukraine Refugee Crisis

 

As the war in Ukraine continues,

millions of refugees flee

with a target on their backs.

 

They rush down the few open corridors left

,Looking at their gadgets

for the latest information,

 

hoping to live another day.

The refugee organization staff

 

Try to keep

track of their movement

 

Amid the cracking

of the bombs falling.

 

Copyright © Jake Aller | Year Posted 2024

 

Closing Notes

 

These poems are not about strategy.
They are about consequences.

They ask one question repeatedly:
Who pays the price for war?

 

 

📎 End Notes

1. https://allpoetry.com/poem/17656735-Ukrainian-Refugees-Fleeing-for-their-Lives-in-Ukraine-by-Jake-Aller [allpoetry.com]
2. https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/ukraine_refugee_crisis_1625034 [poetrysoup.com]
3. https://allpoetry.com/poem/16061238-Kabul-Has-Fallen–by-Jake-Aller [allpoetry.com]
4. https://allpoetry.com/poem/12813811-Bombs-Away-by-Jake-Aller [allpoetry.com]
5. https://allpoetry.com/poem/16679850-War-what-is-good-for–by-Jake-Aller [allpoetry.com]
6. https://allpoetry.com/poem/15096929-We-Did-Not-Take-Action-to-Start-a-War–by-Jake-Aller [allpoetry.com]