War is Kind (Stephen Crane)

[Seeley]

Sometimes English can be an okay class when you get to read the good stuff. Stephen Crane is a great writer and if anyone here hasn't had the pleasure of reading his writings, look into it! He also wrote the Red Badge of Courage and was partially inspired by Sergeant Major John Quick as he calmly directed naval gunfire to enemy positions on a hilltop in Cuba with his back turned to the enemy! Crane commented on Sergeant Major Quick by saying, "He was the embodiment of tranquillity...absorbed only in the business at hand...he was magnificent."

So anyway, read the poem "War is Kind".

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Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die.
The unexplained glory flies above them,
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom --
A field where a thousand corpses lie.

Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.

Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

[ktriplett]

Since we're on the subject, I'll share one of my favorites. It was in English class that I first read the poem Invictus, by William Ernest Henley. He was crippled by tuburculosis of the bone, but was a very active and vigorous man. The poem speaks of the indominitable will of man and is very motivating on a personal level.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried allowed
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.

[eddief]

I hate literature that glorifies war. War is hell plain and simple. The war machine chews up and spits out many men who have
dreams of war glory. War is a necessary evil when tyrants threaten, but I believe war should always be seen for what it is.

[Seeley]

eddief I believe you mis-read the liturature. There is a definate inclination of sarcasim in the writings of Stephen Crane's "War is Kind". He is not glorifying war, rather saying that it is the opposite of kind.

[eddief]

Pardon this dense jarhead Seeley. English literature was'nt
my best subject. I read it again and see what you mean.

[Seeley]

Its okay . Its somewhat like me and math . After Geometry I-II nothing made since anymore LOL.

[Avatar0fCha0s]

Math never makes sense...I drive my teachers crazy because I keep asking why the formulas work. For some reason peopele hate when you ask why. Probably becasue they don't know themselves why these damn things work. I really don't care hwy they work, but it's fun to screw with the teachers

[firstsgtmike]

Kids,

No offense to anyone on this page, but I choose to emphasize a point made;

"I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul."

Peace, War, Corps, or whatever, would anyone step forward to debate and refute what I consider to be a fundamental truth?

If you choose NOT to contest the issue, then join the rest of us believers.

No, we are not organized. We do not demonstrate. We do not protest. BUT- when the **** hits the fan, we ARE a force to be reckoned with.