In many different ways
the nights were a torment
far worse than the days.
Trapped, involuntarily,
in a situation beyond our control,
we believed, contrarily,
that others were to blame.
We tried to shrug aside responsibility,
and so avoid the shame.
We were not good at introspection:
we were trained to fight, wrong or right;
thought was a kind of infection.
We had killed the enemy with impunity,
to be captured was a blow to our pride;
then kindness broke down our immunity.
Why were they devoid of hostility?
This we could not, would not, understand;
it made us consider the futility
of the righteous, murderous behaviour
that had primed us from the start.
They spoke of a just and gentle Saviour
bringing peace and freedom to the land.
We tried, but it was beyond us --
at first we could not understand.
