Mother War

Oh, Mother War, what will you do?
When the battle cries fall silent.
Sweet drummer boys, that you knew,
Left us hard, and violent.

'Tis you who brings the dead to life.
To live among the breathing.
Hear, not, the shattered wife.
See no other mothers grieving.

What have you done, Mother War?
You've killed your sacred sons!
They matter less than distant shores,
And they only cost a gun.

Light our homes with fiery death.
And drink wine in our rubble.
Burn the gardens of the earth.
Seduce them with your trouble,

Mother War dance for us all.
Beat your drums into the night.
Sway your arms as patriots fall.
Turn blindness to their plight.

All these years we loved you so.
So needed was our bidding.
Always reaping what we sow,
And always soon forgetting.

Hold us close, Oh, Mother War.
As cold hatred warms the loins.
Turn paradise into a whore,
And pay in worthless coins.

As we march let us wake the dead.
And remind them what they lost.
Let us eat your cake like bread.
Too polite to state the cost.

Mother War we weep for you,
As you laugh at signs of sorrow.
Children who live this night through,
Will dance with you tommorrow.

By Christy Cole