On The Execution Of Timothy McVeigh
He will be long remembered due to his heinous crime
For such barbaric acts of cowardliness don't fade away in time
Because of him one hundred and sixty eight had died and he left many with horrific injuries
And memories of him will live on like all bad memories.
But before condemning Tim McVeigh we ought to not forget
That there are as bad still alive as he who will never be put to death
Who are looked upon as heroes where can one draw the line?
So many innocents have died in the name of war yet to many that seems fine.
The leaders who have ordered foreign cities to be bombed from the carnage far away
Live in happy retirement our ageing heroes of today
The blood of innocents on their hands but that seems quite okay
But the wrongs and rights of the taking of human life not for mankind to say.
The war leaders order their fighter pilots to bomb cities far away
But for acts of terror in their homeland there is all hell to pay
And Tim McVeigh for act of terrorism died tightly strapped to a chair
Whilst the one responsible for thousands of deaths lives as a free millionaire.
One seen as a villian and the other a hero though I see them as the same
For one cannot make an excuse for brutal acts of shame
One died though lethal injection the other ageing and gray
Lives in the lap of luxury and a hero still today.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Related quotes
Along The War Avenue Of honour
Along the war Avenue of Honour a plaque to a dead soldier nailed to every tree
Brave young men who died in battle their reward for their bravery
They died in the war said to end all wars in the killing fields of World war one
But many wars since and far too many bloody battles and peace in the World not yet won.
Wars started by silly ageing men who send the young for them to die
Ageing men who themselves will die of old age and their twilight years they will enjoy,
ageing males heroes of their people we honour cowards as heroes one might say
The young men will go to war for them and the young men with their young lives pay.
The war supposed to end all wars long over almost nine decades since have gone by
But many wars have been fought since then and war pilots dropp their big bombs from the night sky
But suppose that's what will always happen when we give all of our power away
To silly and ageing male war men who with hair dyes cover their gray.
Along the war avenue of honour long dead soldiers names on every tree
Young noble men who died in battle far from homeland and family
In what was to be the war to end all wars yet we don't have much wisdom to show
For the loss of so many fine young men well over eight decades ago.
poem by Francis Duggan
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He Is That Man
He is that man who sent young men to die
In battle underneath a foreign sky
And wars are never won if lives are lost
In human life how can one count the cost.
He is that man who led the big parade
And to him went the victory accolade
The men who died for him are now forgot
And he the hero never fired one shot.
He is that man with hair of silvery gray
A hero then a hero still today
He took the fame the honour and the pride
And many young men for his ego died.
He is that man who with his wife on sunday
Go to the house of God to kneel and pray
But still the taint of sin with him will stay
Of young lives lost for him so far away.
The hurt of loss with mothers will remain
Due to this man who caused such grief and pain
He sent their sons beyond the sea to die
In battle underneath a foreign sky.
He is that man with hair of silvery gray
A hero then a hero still today
The men who died for him are now forgot
And he the hero never fired one shot.
poem by Francis Duggan
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You Like To Talk About War Heroes
You like to talk about war heroes I'll take you to meet one today
On warm days he sits on a park chair from here in distance a short walk away
In him you may feel disappointed he is frail and aged and gray
He has blocked out most of his war memories of war he has little to say.
He is not your idea of a hero but heroes they too do grow old
Just one more forgotten old warrior the years on him in wrinkles have told
He fought under the flag of his Nation in his Country he had great pride
A survivor of the war trenches where thousands of brave young men died.
He lives alone in a one bedroom apartment in a cold and drafty place to live in
Yet in his early twenties he was a decorated soldier and medals for his bravery he did win
For him it has all come to nothing and on the reaper's call he wait
On war memorial day he does not walk in the parade he feels no cause to celebrate.
You like to talk about war heroes you come for a short walk with me
And sitting on a park chair in the sunshine a war hero in the flesh you will see
Long before your father was born he fought in a war from here far away
He is the last of his battalion his war comrades amongst the dead lay
poem by Francis Duggan
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Heores
Heroes
Being a hero means little to me,
For I have see men labeled as a coward die as a heroes
And men called heroes run like cowards.
A name means nothing when it is all outside
And being called a hero is only a name.
For I have seen countless men live and die,
As only a hero could.
And yet they received nothing more,
Than a little golden star.
Countless heroes have lived and died,
But only a few ever truly earned such a title.
A true hero never worries about titles,
They do what is needed no matter the price.
A true hero is willing to make,
That ultimate sacrifice.
They will lay down their lives,
For their brothers-in-arms,
And give what they can for all those they love.
That is why I willingly gave,
My right leg for the man standing beside me.
I gave what I could so that he would live,
Hoping that he would do the same for another.
poem by Chad LaRowe
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The War Winners
The war winners always write the war history and as for those in war who have known defeat
They never do know of adulation and with a sad ending they meet
Arrested and tried for war crimes and executed for crimes against humanity
The victorious war leaders are feted as heroes though they seem no less guilty to me
Than those who are known as war losers in war far too many do die
And that the victorious of war crimes not guilty in truth of course only a lie
How can the one who order the bombings that killed thousands of people be seen as one quite free of taint
When they are guilty of mass murder and a murderer cannot be a saint
Why do we make heroes of villians two wrongs never do make a right
Though the winner is always the hero that's how it is in every fight
And the war dead with tears are remembered and the war mothers weep for their dead
Though their dead children helped to win the war and good things of them have been said.
The war winners write the war history that's how it is and it will always be
But history itself keeps repeating of war will we ever be free
If the victorious war leaders were not treated as heroes and for their war crimes arrested and tried
We may not have had war in the first place and so many young people may not have died.
poem by Francis Duggan
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If I Died Today
if i died today
what would you say
if i died today
what would you do
would you cry
because i left you alone
or would you hate me
because we are bound by blood
if i died today
would you kill yourself
because you failed as my gaurdian
if you died today
id weep black tears
and as my soul shattered
id wish to be with you again
in our other world
but if i died today
you would try to bring me bak
even if it killed you
but in the very end you would realize
all i wanted
was for you to live
and to protect my body
so that i may once again return.
poem by Jasmine Appelhaus
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War Never Solves Anything
Of battles won and noble soldiers you hear the old balladeer sing
But war only brings death and suffering and war never solves anything
And the mental scars of war keep festering long after the battle does end
You badly injure or kill someone's loved one that person will not be your friend.
For God and the flag of their Nation too many in battle have died
And the Government honour war heroes in their false show of patriotic pride
But the fact is their young lives were wasted and the fact with us sadly remain
That old battles are never over and for old grieviances human blood spilt again.
War weaponry and explosives big business in a World where human life is taken cheap
By some a human life seen as of no more value than that of a cow's or a sheep
From history we have not learned the war supposed to end all wars long gone
Yet every day more violence and terror and war and war mongering lives on.
Of battles won and acts of war bravery so many songs written and sung
And war instigated by old men must always be fought by the young
But the song for the young dead war hero to the hero's mum to it has a bitter ring
And war is a waste of human life for war never solves anything.
poem by Francis Duggan
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The Retired Commander In Chief
For one who profess a strong belief in God
To say the least I found it rather odd
That he sent his Country's troops to fight in his uncalled for war
From their home shore to a Nation afar.
A war where hundreds of thousands of people have died
Their right to life by him has been denied
Yet for his crimes against Humanity he will never pay
An honourable life in retirement is his lot today.
For most of his war dead terrorists he does blame
Terrorists his war created for to commit acts of shame
He should have known that's what happens when other Countries you invade
For conflict the price in human blood is paid.
A hero to many but a major criminal to me
He gave rise to crimes against Humanity
As well as causing thousands of deaths he destroyed the archictecture of another Land
Many in positions of power history does not understand.
The mothers of his war dead grieving today
Leave him to Karma is all one can say
His life achievements hundreds of thousands of war dead
Perhaps the power at his disposal did go to his head.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Today My Friend Died
Today my friend died,
I still cant believe my eyes.
It seems like my world has ended.
Today my friend died,
the cute face and sweet smile,
keeps flashing in front of my eyes.
Today my friend died,
my first and last best friend.
She was waiting for this day,
as she had only sorrows and troubles with her.
Today my friend died,
the friend who cared about me,
the friend who solved my problem,
the friend who always fought with life.
Today my friend died,
and I think,
I am filled with problems with no solution,
a human with no confidence,
today I am here with no hope,
I am here today without happiness.
Today my friend died,
she has stepped into my life,
as a spirit of mine.
I cannot express how important she is to me.
Today my friend died,
I recall my memories with her,
and cry....
poem by Afreen Khan
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The Hypocritical
So many people injured and more than fifty numbered with the dead
About the recent London bombings a lot has been written and said
Though such cowardly and callous attacks on civilians are happening in Iraq every day
That Country to us seems so foreign and from our thoughts seems far away.
One can only feel for the civilian casualties of London for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq they are not to blame
Though their Government will not admit to it at the sufferings of millions of Afghanis and Iraqis they ought to feel shame
They are part of the invading Coalition of the willing those who have managed for to stir up more hate
And though victory in Afghanistan and Iraq has been proclaimed one wonders what is to celebrate?
When I hear war leaders condemning acts of terror I say to myself how hypocritical they are
For to wage their wars on other Nations their fighter jets and their armies travel far
Thousands of civilians have died in their bombing missions though that to them seems quite okay
They do seem to have some strange values those who promote us against they.
The perpetrators of the London bombings their names not worthy of mention but the war leaders who condemn them no better than them 'twould seem
For them to wage war on other Nations is a boost to their egos and their self esteem
They must address the root cause of terrorism before the last hope of peace has gone
For if they keep on bombing other Nations then terror is bound to live on.
poem by Francis Duggan
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The Final Old Hero
The final old hero has faded away
His bones even beyond the state of decay
He gave rise to many a patriotic song
But to Mother Nature he finally belong.
He was a great King in a Land from here far
And he was one who led his army in war
He died a true hero on the battle-ground
And stories about him in folklore abound.
No heroes amongst the war leaders of today
From the heat of the battle they stay far away
The children of others for them fight and die
And the rewards of renown and wealth they enjoy.
I see them as manipulative deceitful and sly
Yet that the majority cannot see through them I do wonder why
For what they truly are many them cannot see
And the hero to many is a coward to me.
Though his legend inspired the bards for to rhyme
The final old hero almost forgotten in time
He led his men in war and in battle he died
And true greatness of him never can be denied.
poem by Francis Duggan
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That Most Humans Crave For Glory
That most humans crave for glory is surely not a lie
And though you well may love your Country for your Country why should you die
Since dead heroes like dead cowards cannot help their Country in any way
Whilst alive you can help your Country even though you look old and gray
The dead hero cannot hear the bugler when the last post it is played
Though some may say his ghost is present at every war parade
The deserter is dishonoured from the fight he ran away
But to his Country he's of some use he's alive and well today
The dead hero he is honoured though to him that of no use
For to justify their recent war the war leaders use the war dead as an excuse
For another bloody battle a war they themselves will not fight in
Though in every war that ever was humanity did not win
You cannot serve your Country by dying for it so live for as long as you can
And die hopefully a painless death as a very old man.
poem by Francis Duggan
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For To Celebrate War
For to celebrate war there's always one more parade
And out of war warriors heroes are made
Only the good die young some are known to say
But I know good people who are old and gray.
The praises of war leaders many may sing
But those who declare war on others do it as a power thing
Though many with my thinking may not agree
Those who declare war on terror are major terrorists to me.
Millions of human beings through the centuries in wars have suffered and died
And wars through the ages have been fought Worldwide
And still we have wars and talks of more wars today
Of our human capacity to learn from past mistakes of us what does this say?
It can lead to acts of aggression patriotic pride
And religion, nationalism, patriotism and racism are the things that divide
People of all Nations who live everywhere
And over them more wars are fought in the big World out there.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Your Hero Will Never Be Mine
By the way you talk of your hero one would swear out of him the sun shine
Don''t try to convince me of his worth your hero will never be mine
To me your hero is responsible of crimes against humanity
Because of him thousands have died and thousands more maimed and injured why do you talk of him to me.
Our values are so very different I''m not saying you are wrong and I''m right
The one that you say is your hero I look on as a lesser light
I won''t argue with you about politics that''s not why I came in here tonight
I came here for a few quiet drinks and all I need is peace and quiet.
Go tell someone else of your hero since of him I do not wish to hear
You know how I feel on that subject so leave me for to drink my beer
For an argument you seem to be looking though for such I am not in the mood
You tell someone else of your hero forgive me if I do seem rude.
I don''t talk to you of my heroes as my heroes would seem cowards to you
But each to their own I believe in and those words as ever ring true
How come all of your heroes are war men did war ever solve anything
The war dead we well may remember but they can''t hear those whom their praises sing.
Don''t talk to me about your hero his type to me does not appeal
''Twould seem you are trying to annoy me since about him you know how I feel
I came here just for a few quiet drinks and since your hero is not a hero to me
Go talk to someone else about him and with what you say they may even agree.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Losses
It was not dying: everybody died.
It was not dying: we had died before
In the routine crashes-- and our fields
Called up the papers, wrote home to our folks,
And the rates rose, all because of us.
We died on the wrong page of the almanac,
Scattered on mountains fifty miles away;
Diving on haystacks, fighting with a friend,
We blazed up on the lines we never saw.
We died like aunts or pets or foreigners.
(When we left high school nothing else had died
For us to figure we had died like.)
In our new planes, with our new crews, we bombed
The ranges by the desert or the shore,
Fired at towed targets, waited for our scores--
And turned into replacements and woke up
One morning, over England, operational.
It wasn't different: but if we died
It was not an accident but a mistake
(But an easy one for anyone to make.)
We read our mail and counted up our missions--
In bombers named for girls, we burned
The cities we had learned about in school--
Till our lives wore out; our bodies lay among
The people we had killed and never seen.
When we lasted long enough they gave us medals;
When we died they said, 'Our casualties were low.'
They said, 'Here are the maps'; we burned the cities.
It was not dying --no, not ever dying;
But the night I died I dreamed that I was dead,
And the cities said to me: 'Why are you dying?
We are satisfied, if you are; but why did I die?'
poem by Randall Jarrell
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A Philosophy of Heroism
heroes are not easy to come by
heroic acts are a different story.
heroism a flag bestowed unfurled
live in the annals of moral sacrifice.
spilled his guts saving lives of others
courage to suffer and still carry on,
most heroically did so in silence
oh hero hero who do not cry out
his or her deeds carried by waves,
of ethics moral and agreed upon,
live on by consensus annd canon
of each era, we salute you one and all
Oh dear me! is a Nazi soldier a hero
who gave his life for his comrades
of a diseased inhuman ideology
a hero too?
are not women who suffer daily
selflessly help their children grow up
not heroes of heroic heroism
suffer the yoke and burden of a warped society
are not the accidents of genetic mishaps heroes,
heroes of statistics and those of accidents,
and those of injustice heroes,
of paying the price of survival for other regarding
Oh my kind listeners come tell me one and all
is this philosophy not far fetched and lopsided
and there is no such concept called hero,
take your medals put them under your pillows
take the stories and legends, myths and magic
are the fancy of the narrator pleasant to listen
and muse of sacrifice and other regarding
acts so noble and fascinating of wonder and admire
still there are some that are more heroic if only by
comparison indelible in our memory for ages to come
poem by Shimon Weinroth
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I Don't Want To Live Forever
Frank Sinatra died today
I came home and found my mama crying
The TV had so much to say
Somehow I was thinking about dying
I'm seventeen and thinking about dying
I don't want to live forever
Just want to know that I'm alive
Don't want to live forever
Just until the day I die
I see my daddy in his chair
He sits there night and day
The TV still looks good as new
Daddy's old and gray
And it's scaring me to death
I don't want to go that way
I don't want to live forever
Just want to know that I'm alive
Don't want to live forever
Just until the day I die
Just because your heart's still beating
It don't mean that you're alive
Don't want to live forever
Nobody lives forever
Gonna live while I'm alive
You can see the glass half-empty
You can see the glass half-full
But all I see are shattered dreams
Around this neighborhood
My brother's girlfriend's pregnant
And today she's moving in
My friends all play the lottery
And swear one day they'll win
I'm seventeen, I'm thinking about dying
I'm seventeen, no way I'm dying
Don't want to live forever
Just want to know that I'm alive
Don't want to live forever
Just until the day I die
Just because you're breathing
It don't mean that you're alive
Don't want to live forever
Nobody lives forever
I don't want to live forever
Nobody lives forever
Don't want to live forever
I don't want to live forever
Nobody lives forever
I don't want to live forever
Don't want to live forever
I don't want to live forever
Nobody lives forever
I don't want to live forever
Nobody lives forever
I don't want to live forever
song performed by by Bon Jovi
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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If i Died Today
If idied today i would cry
i would cry for all the time i spent being sad
when i could have been smiling
if i died today i would weep
i would weep for all the love i never felt
when i was alive
If i died today i would be sad
sad that i never really got to feel special,
loved and cared for
If i died today it would break my heart
break my heart for all the times i have cried,
cried because i was in pain
if i died today i would be regretful
regretful for all for all the time wasted on vanity
and worrying what other people will think of me
if i died today i would forgive myself
forgive myself for being my best enemy
forgive myself for hating me so much
if i died today i would be devasted
devasted that i never really got to appreciate,
appreciate myself
if i died today i would feel lost because,
i have never really known
or found myself
if i died today i would miss me
i would miss me because i forgot all about mealong time ago
if i died to day i would cry for me.
poem by Elizabeth Jacqueline Mpanga
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Aluu Will Bludgeon You
Have you yet not heard?
Yes, it happened in Aluu
A community predominated by fools.
Four innocent students were burnt
to their deaths,
Right before their eyes they were made
to experience their worst fears; hell
Who said there should be another hell
after death?
Then God is not as merciful as they said.
But that is not end of what I've said;
Four innocents students were not given a chance
to prove their innocence;
In a matter of munites, that community
head had decided;
- Four innocents must be executed
- Four innocents must be uncladded
- Four innocents must be blodgeoned
to their deaths
- Four innocents must be burnt like I've said.
That day angels wept;
I never knew Lucifer could shed a tear.
Positions of leadership must not
be given to imbeciles,
For they will take their own anu*s
and use it to decide.
For how long will Nigeria
be cursed with its leaders?
I do not know;
And hell, well, heaven, I still
don't get it yet.
poem by Efe Benjamin
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This Hero (An Ode To The American Military Veteran)
The American Military Veteran, a breed of hero, unparalleled in history,
Gave so much to so many-yet, somehow remains to them, a mystery.
What would possess an individual with so many rights guaranteed,
To leave it all behind, and gallantly defend liberty in a foreign land in need! ? !
Why would they risk their lives for the sake of strangers-or, even care! ? !
Perhaps they believe: 'injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' *
Freedom is only ever free so long as there are patriots willing to die to preserve it.
'Hero' is a moniker oft-bandied about, but there are some who truly deserve it.
This hero simply acts, when and where action is needed, in spite of danger.
This hero acts with honor and integrity, for a Brother In Arms, or a stranger,
No matter the risk to him or herself-a selfless dedication that very few possess.
What this hero means to a free world, words could never properly express;
A simply 'thank you for your service' is all that most people can humbly tender,
All the while, never able to gather what drives a person to banish the word 'surrender'
From his/her vocabulary, and speak a language filled with acronyms and foreign jargon.
'Enemies of the Constitution', foreign or domestic, are not ones with which they will bargain-
For THIS, and this alone, is the one precept to which they pledge unwavering allegiance.
We are One Nation Under God, and they believe that He created, in His Omnipotence,
This 'More Perfect Union' so that we may be freedom's foremost defender.
This hero served, so that all may enjoy liberty and justice, in all their splendor,
Not just for today and tomorrow-but, so that our progeny may, for all perpetuity,
Live their lives under the blanket of the freedoms provided by truly selfless acuity.
This hero deserves so much more from us than just our heart-felt appreciation,
He or she earned the right to your utmost respect, with tireless dedication
To principles that most seem to take for granted, except when reminded.
Take the time to truly get to know one of these heroes, if you are still blinded
By an ignorance that may be unintentional, yet very real still the same.
These words are meant to edify and inspire, not surely to assess any sort of blame-
Not only will you surely get to better know a remarkably heroic human being,
But perhaps learn to appreciate more, the very freedom you are now seeing.
*Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter From A Birmingham Jail
-Maurice Harris,7 November 2012
poem by Maurice Harris
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