Not for nothing we hunger
Forever we fight
Not sure why
Despite theories
About dominos
And peace actions
Those were skirmishes
Not wars, not conflicts
Just unrest and geste
Not to name it
Is not to own it
So the pols press
Gripable epithets
Themselves never
A thought to taking up arms
only the mantle of unerring
Our young do not die
They convert to ciphers
Their bodies in boxes
They become the box
Closed and draped
Deemed unsuitable
For public viewing
At least until interred
And white cross set
We then default
To a hunger of the dogs
We unleashed during
The spent end of reason
Compelling words and so timely, but, I am afraid, could be applied ad infinitum. Bravo!
This poem really stayed with me. The way it shows how easily real human beings can become statistics, political language, and eventually just a name on a list—or even “the box”—is heartbreaking. That line especially made me stop and think. It feels like the poem is asking us to consider what happens when we get so used to talking about war that we forget the actual people who bear its cost. Powerful and unsettling.
I really enjoyed this poem. It took me a couple of reads to really appreciate everything it was saying, and I think that’s what I liked most about it. There’s a lot happening underneath the surface.
I especially liked the way the poem plays with the language used to describe conflict. Words like “skirmishes” and “unrest” almost make everything sound smaller and more distant than it really is, while the reality for the people involved is anything but small. The part about the young becoming “ciphers” really stuck with me too. It made me think about how easily real people can get reduced to numbers, names on a list, or statistics.
And then there’s “the box,” which I thought was a really powerful image. It’s simple, but once you connect it to everything that came before it, it hits a lot harder.
The ending was probably my favorite part. “The hunger of the dogs” left me thinking about how violence and the decisions that create it can eventually come back around and consume far more than anyone intended.
Definitely a poem that made me stop and think. I feel like I probably got something different out of it each time I read it, which is usually a sign of a good poem.
The poem written by Timothy Rodriguez speaks from hard experiences, and obviously, from a lifetime of observation. It boldly illustrates the stupidity of what we accept as our lot in life, and how we have allowed our leaders to send our young people into stupid, endless wars… and still are. It is a powerful work of art, written from the soul.