Justified
The greatest sins (rape, torture) were triumphed eventually
with the greatest of pride; "Come and see
(click the link) that 'we' were justified."
The tit for tat that tattered the centuries
with war was glowed up for the new era
and everyone wanted more.
It was fought in press releases and with
the best intentions, and by people
meticulously checking their mentions.
And one side won but lost and the other
lost but won, and for a certain kind of mentality
that was part of the fun.
And no one really scrupled over how it
all began. Stories differed, and kept on
differing. Right according to plan.
And once over, those distant people felt their various
wounds and traumas, while nearer home
they threw a party to toast the end of the drama.
"Modern warfare, technological triumph,
tribute to our age": whatever. Rituals were
needed to sanitize the filthy remnants of rage.
The ancient horsemen rode with honor in the
ghastly parade. (Between you and me, to see them;
we all should have been dismayed.)
Famine taking his narrow, satisfied bows to
the most cheerful harvest song, to celebrate the dead fields
where nothing natural went wrong.
Broken ships and far-flung shipments to needless
distant ports left so many cupboards
intentionally bare, the margins brutally short.
War, that old charger, riding in his bloody medals
to a martial drum had success with the rumors of
his name and from where he would come:
"From everywhere, from all sides, trust no one!"
with messages confused, the people had
destroyed themselves, not knowing they were used.
And Pestilence, the opportunist, showed his face and let
the mob applaud, have done his best to direct the arrows
that were once slung only by God.
Death led the way, and also fell behind and showed them
to the portal, with nothing more than these words to say:
"Remember, thou art mortal."
But not today for that brave multitude, that owned: they showed out,
they ate, they became epic and immortal
apotheosized, heroic, digitally great:
the antlike soldiers, who memed and considered
all this war an op, having created great war machines
in Adobe and Photoshop,
drenched themselves in fake blood as people with
real blood died, they fought a great war to be
seen, and felt very justified.