Students of the Bard know well memorized perhaps
the line spoken by Marc Antony Cry Havoc
and let slip the dogs of war the line doubtless
explained by teachers of English Lit as the command
shouted after a victory to release the soldiers to plunder
pillage and rape and in truth it was a military command
Long gone the days of Cry Havoc from our military
no longer do our trained generals approve of war’s bedlam
no longer do men in uniform pillage and plunder less
they be shot or imprisoned for their cowardly deeds
against helpless humanity collateral damage between
the armed and dangerous soldiers who do not can not
determine friend from foe indiscriminating slaughtering
in the name of freedom or their private cause
Cry Havoc has not been lost in the folded pages
of history or in lines enacted in playing Julius Caesar
Civil disobedience erupts with violence as if
someone had Cried Havoc and the plundering
begins windows smashed stores looted people injured
or killed over properties or profits and the dogs of riot
cannot be held by too few police and firefighters or
politicians pleading through megaphones drowned
out by cries of injustice hatred lawlessness anarchy
or winning or losing a sports game anything
fuelled by alcohol drugs anger or boredom
faithfully reported on smart phones held aloft
in some homage to our feckless society that will
not fathom the depths of our decline until later years
when we in our dotage wonder who Cried Havoc
and why we listened acted to our now shame yet
in our upside down world the leaders of ISIS
and Al Qaeda Cry Havoc and then pretend to fight
an endless war while pillaging plundering raping
killing non-believers all in the name of their god
and I an old warrior do not Cry Havoc but cry out
Peace Ceasefire Stop in the name of humanity
oh were I as famous as the Bard that people would
listen to me and not let slip the dogs of war
