War

Recently I was present at an impersonation of a man by the name of A. L. Hess. Mr Hess was one of the key persons who founded the town of Hesston, and of the name of the street on which I live. This presentation was very interesting to say the least, and it gave us a very good picture of who this man was and what he did for this community.

A. L. Hess was not a literary man, but he did write a few poems during his busy life. They were mostly poems about things that happened in his personal life and experience. There are only a few copies of these poems, one of which came into the possession of the presenter we heard. I want to share only one here that carries a lot of meaning. It is on war, and the call to peace. It is my recollection that this poem was written at the close of the civil war. By the way, the initials in his name, A. L., stand for Abraham Lincoln.

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War
Inventive man has fashioned great machines
That speed across the earth and cleave the air
They spew their breath of fire and bursting bomb
And carry their destruction everywhere.

Inventive man has found a better way
To deal out death and suffering, grief and woe
Inventive man has found a surer way
To deal his fellow man a crushing blow.

Oh master mind when will you learn to love
When will you learn more merciful to be
When will you seek to emulate a God
Whose dealings have been merciful with thee?

Why are your God-given talents all atuned
To rend and tear, to kill and to destroy?
Resourceful man when will you find a way
To fill this world with happiness and joy?

The dove of Peace lies broken in the dust
A war to end all wars is but a dream
The interval between that men call peace
Is but a prop on which the nations lean.

A time to breathe, a resting spell
Then once again we hear the cannon's roar
The measured tread of soldiers' marching feet
A sight this world has witnessed o'er and o'er.

A. L. Hess