when they look back
in the rearview mirror,
it is not the devastation
they see.

not the pale, ashen faces
or the shattered helmets
that tickle the minds to
provoke disbelief.

innocent civilians and honest
bystanders are strewn in streets—
tainted decorations that should mean much
to me.

the rearview does no justice
to the injustices of the past.
bombed cities and thousands dead are
nearly insignificant.

but when we turn from the mirror
and our thoughtless false compassion,
we can look ahead and see a future
where none of this shall happen

again.