With the controversial hive of storied Afghanistan upon the minds of thoughtful people these days, the writings of my talented young nephew on the subject, and on the story of my Uncle Fred, (from overhearing family conversations growing up, and his poem about war, has been fascinating to read and think about (in context of celebrating his birthday by way of his splendid, lively, always entertaining poetry, and not even in high school yet! May they have an adventurous and yet non-influencing school of poetry teachers at the high school decided upon! 
David’s poems have been emerging since he was just a kid and now, upon the towering height of his grade 8 year, I’m so impressed with the quality of the work and the evidently excellent school he must go to, to have such a fun project for the students to work on.
Serious topics are discussed, tho humour prevails.
Thinking his story of my Uncle, the depth of it re-echoes and re-echoes. There’s much discussion nationally of whom is responsible if government policy goes wrong, the individuals on the scene attempting to do a job, or the government and/or governments that imbue our nation with that policy, or circumstance, or set of conditions. There is no question, given human idealism, that it is possible to have noblest intentions in becoming a soldier, and/or filling all the many roles of public, business, educational and ‘maintnance” of our world. All is appreciated: effort, caring, the synthesized assemblance of values, or in working to do any job, or fulfill any valuable task, “cleaning up the yard” can save lives, being alert to goings on in the natural world, most things can be done with great intent, idealism, truly blessed hope for a result of effort that is good for all. 
(((As I say this it’s like my mother and Uncle Fred himself perhaps and other relatives and friends burst into my essayist tendency saying if you’re to print these poems in oversion do so saving essay for after!
And so consider, David’s story of Uncle Fred’s all too brief, war years…
Oversion 
Awesome eh? My nephew’s talent for poetry startles even as the poetry itself entertains. And, thoughtprovokes, as the saying goes. Such thoughts of my Uncle, his never found death in world war 2 forever an echoing pain in the family, long before I was born, when the world was so differently described, this deathmetal blow to the family spirit. My father’s side, being from orphans and coalminers, his generation was perhaps the first in a few generations to join the military, decimated by coalminer and orphan fate just as much or more, but Uncle Fred’s death shaped the very universe I and my siblings entered, my mother’s brother, so goodhearted, so kind, so caring, and political, having insisted on a non-commissioned purely egalitarian enlisting during world war two, fought with his father my grandfather who insisted he enroll in a longer program to become an officer, after which, the noble spirited young man set off for war on his own signing up as the most basic volunteer, and was not long after that parachuted into Burma, receiving machine gun fire while in the air, on some ludicrous command, of a famous, insane, commander, so resented, famous for his daring impossible wreckless suicidal missions. And thereupon the story ended so abruptly, crossing a river on foot, shot, while his friend made it, who could tell of that. It all sounds so large in memory, (the commander sent many airborn non-aircraft new soldiers behind enemy lines by air, some of which actually caught in the winds and overflew the mountains into the back lands of a country England was not at the time at war with, but who had to from there somehow survive or escape, “invading the Japanese held portion of Burma, flew in his parachute over mountain into India= lost at war
Governments need to think
very very carefully and seriously
about where and when they engage
in war
Comment by oversion — December 18, 2009 @ 4:58 am
war is a reaction
no amount of thinking will lead one to choose war
Czandra
Comment by czandra — December 18, 2009 @ 5:33 pm