waves of destruction
too familiar to relate
it is, of course,
the nature of things.

he pauses his story
of pain and suffering;
numb to the words
he does relate.

earthquake in Gilos-
omens of the impending,
eclipse of the summer sun-
infesting the sky with stars:
the exceptional occurrences

as Thucydides claims,
the laying of waste
is not exceptional;
no military action,
no ravages of war,
none of the mortal blood shed:
these are the ordinary.

understand, you must
brace for the future:
because war, of course,
is human nature.