Not Even a Meeting

“What divided them bitterly only years ago
Is scarcely mentioned now. As we looked,
It was significant. It was the classic theme,
The well established principle becoming more

Uncertain with the challenge”.

                                             “Yes. Those long days.
The heat. The parched earth. Each combatant bronzed
By the sun. Each with his strategy…”

                                                    “What engendered
In both the gradual shift of view, the change of stance,
The much more reasoned thoughts, is difficult
To comprehend. It wasn’t age, or the wisdom acquired
With age. It wasn’t a conciliation. Not even a meeting
From time to time on common ground”.

                                                        “There is
The conjecture that bloodied with battle, with all
The wounds and scars of war exposed, each saw
The pointlessness, and wearied, called
A truce…”
               “No. No truce. It’s more a lack
Of passion for the grandiose, for concepts on the grandest
Scale. In that respect they’ve grown the same. Indifferent
To the general view. But eager to keep intact their

Understanding of the workings of the detailed world”.

Peter Cowlam