85580269
Wilfred Owen
Dulce Et Decorum Est
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.
GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!– An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.–
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,–
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
This was written 80 years ago. Given that we now face the threat of chemical and biological warfare from more than just one country, and that the nuclear threat is not just a one day, but is here and now, its suddenly struck home to me that right now, we really do live in dangerous times. Its taken nearly 200 people to die in Bali for many people to re-assess our safety and start looking at how we got into the position of what we thought was neutral apathy, something that we used to cultivate in the world, to something where, we are perceived as a strong ally of one of the most hated countries in the world, and that somehow painted a target on our back.
We aren’t safe. Its a realisation that makes me feel sick in a way. No longer would Australia be seen as a country to be ignored in the grand scheme of things, we are in the thick of it. We have brought attention to ourselves, we have not used discretion, and it was done without our consent. Who knows what will happen next, when the next bomb will go off, where, who will get injured, or why was it done. All that we know is that when they go off, they kill people. People who have no interest in the wars of others, who have families, careers, one of them might have the cure of cancer, but we’ll never know because their contribution has been lost to us.
How far will terrorist organisations push Western Countries who have only wanted peace? Don’t they understand that right now, its like poking a wasps nest. Not all countries agree with what America does. They prefer to use diplomacy rather than bullying, greed and force. One day, terrorists will go too far. Kill one person too many… I think we have a grim future as it stands at the moment, and it makes me want to cry.
“Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” - How sweet and fitting it is to die for one’s country