Echoes of a past life

I can feel the blood din
fill my ears
no rational fears get in my way
to say that I would be of use
better knowledge older brain
confused disabuses my heart
of the part of it that says
to tear down my peace
and prepare to defend
wending abroad to sin again
in slaying those poor boys
who descend into war against their wills
cannon fodder for a mad shill
whose thrill in restoring empire
makes neighbors quake and prespire.
But in this invasion
Putin’s hubris betrays him
his troops can bleed
his tanks get stuck
he is weak, impotent, the mystique
of past power is gone.
Enemies emboldened be ineptitude,
no one now fears
the long, pathetic gears of this war machine
its trucks stuck in mire
a 40 mile convoy seered into our minds.
Putin’s pathetic power rests
in aging ICBMs. He stands on the shoulders
of a great culture, of shrewd diplomacy
and spirited defense.
He attempts to implement his magnum opus
but composing is not his suit
and aloof, he cannot contend
with the charisma of a professional
entertainer, his foe, who knows what it means
for the arts to inspire,
with fire, he has turned the globe
against his unwitting foe
and though his country was not particularly good
and his government was not remarkable
in death he’d now be martyred
in life, he’ll be forever unfriendly to Russia.
In miscalculating, Putin has forever damaged
the country he claims to defend
economically, in morale, and in his power
the hour is now to tear him down.
That is why the heart of me
longs to see another part
that echo of a past life
wherein in strife I cast
a stronger me.
There is still strength
I still have breath
the old soldier rests but is not dead.
But instead of turning my hands again to war,
I know that I have no more lifetimes to recover,
and though I am ashamed to remain in comfort
with Harry’s words ringing in my ears
I fear I must remain here.
But even though I won’t bear arms,
inaction would my psyche harm.
So here in words I praise defense
of home against unjust pretense
of values true and principle
of kith and kin and valuables.
And in my strongest vim condemn
aggressive attacking of one-time friend,
hubris, pride, and the self-absorbed,
who in assumption have ignored
the cries of people far and wide,
those who’ve died on both sides,
and the right to reside, side-by-side,
in glorious peace, the likes of which
has been seen since last we conquered hate.
May we once again abate
this latest iteration
and cleanse the Ukranian nation, whole,
of every last inept invader.