An end to boredom

· by · in free verse, poetry. ·

This war will end an ordinary day
just as it started once,
like weather didn’t change a lot that day
we never noticed our transition into war.

I think it was more in sense
of end to boredom,
when first we welcomed arms and uniforms;
it was a welcome change from endless
reruns on the television and beer that wasn’t cold

We had demanded to feel safe,
but when they called at night
to search our dreams,
we realized we were
the menace to society they had talked about.

And when they cut the rations
to fight another war, we wondered
for whom the war as waged and who we fought against.

At dusk they gathered traitors,
some were shot at dawn other marched into the north
some they just released to tell us all they cared.

But just as we once were bored with peace,
this war will end as sighs at night.

war-1915.jpg!Large.jpg

War  by Marc Chagall

There are days when I feel that war grows from plain boredom. A little bit like the sense I got when Mersault killed and Arab in the Stranger.
—
December 25, 2016

19 responses to “An end to boredom”

  1. Love the last line, and this:

    “when they called at night
    to search our dreams,
    we realized we were
    the menace to society”

  2. But just as we once were bored with peace,
    this war will end as sighs at night.

    Compounded from the destructions and sufferings, no one seems able to give right answers to all the confusion. Communication is at a standstill. Very true!

    Hank

  6. Daaaaaaaamn…stone cold observation of human nature there Bjorn. I would like to argue against it, but find that for a decent portion of the population, this may very well be true. Sharply and beautifully written.

  7. Very interesting take on the subject. We are so conditioned to war here in the U.S.–entire generations grow up and die, never having seen a day without it.

  8. The things we find when we look within can be quite illuminating… and life changing.

    I really enjoyed the pacing of this poem, its quiet movement echoes the sense of boredom… then we are awaken with a gentle bang in the end.

  9. Well written. I love the metaphor but think maybe it was more of a stalemate than peace before the war broke out.

  10. I am almost speechless with admiration for this poem. You took me to this place where conflict arises from boredom..and made me take a different view of the whole topic.

    • (Perhaps ‘terminally’ is not a good choice of word! Let’s say ‘permanently’.)

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