Chandra Hohmann - War Crimes

Hypocrisy and lies run rampant
As the youth lose faith

Always taught
In our schools

That man is man
And we are all equal
We all deserve the same rights

That our mission is to bring this to everyone

Yet look at this
Prisoners of a war that is not a war
Denied all rights

We take advantage of the fact that
Despite the bombs
And the death
This war is not official

All laws are ignored
Injured men left to rot
Or killed

Prisoners humiliated
Stripped of everything
Forced to stand for days at a time
Hoods on heads

We say that one of the reasons
We went in was the way Saddam treated his people
The human rights violations

But now….
Aren’t we doing the same?
Houses blown up because some in it are against us
Never mind the woman and children it displaces
Electrocution
Forcing men into sexual poses for pictures
Beatings

War Crimes
We ignore outcries
Say the situation is under control
That it’s being taken care of
Even though these prisoners don’t deserve humane treatment

Though of course if our people
Are taken prisoner
It’s unthinkable that they would be treated the same
That would be a crime

What happens when all this is exposed?
A slap on the wrist
NO effort to see whether the abuse extends elsewhere
Despite prisoners claims

This is just a fluke it’s said
Our people couldn’t really do that
We aren’t terrorists

Better to ignore it
Than to have to face the truth
We blindly follow

Except for a few youth
And even we feel guilty for thinking the way we do

Chandra Hohmann

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/war-crimes/