Why does a Pyrrhic victory
feel like a defeat
Can peace be other than the
straightforward opposite of war
How often is a ceasefire
not the end of hostility
What might make an armistice
be the seed of new enmity
What if an enemy soldier
is often not the real enemy
If you should die for your country
is it for the regime, the people or a concept
How do you know whether
your enemy’s enemy is not your friend
If fifty-one percent of people are for a war
what about the forty-nine percent who aren’t
Can losers be
the winners of hearts and minds
Does triumph erode
the value of victory
When one rival triumphs in love
is only one heart broken
Is one man’s triumph ever
only the other man’s defeat…
© Andrew Wilson, 2025
Over at dVerse Poets Pub, merrildsmith in Poetics challenges us to write about Triumph and Defeat.
All so true, Andrew–triumph AND defeat throughout history.
I was just thinking about this this morning–the suffering of people no matter what their governments are doing. All the innocent civilians bombed; women (and children) raped by triumphant armies, as in Berlin after WWII.
And now here in the US, more people do not support the demented one, but his finger is on the button, and he will sign whatever orders his handlers put in front of him.
I had thought about following each question with the example that insoired it but decided to leave them as universals that the reader can associate with their own examples – as I said – a great prompt…
So many important questions, and I think we are obsessed with winners and loser… the true winnners are often hiding.
For sure there is a lot of nuance which is not always ebident in the discussion…
Andrew your poem explores the complexities of victory and defeat. Very compelling, inviting the reader to step back and question the assumptions behind conflict and its outcomes – insightful questions that linger well beyond their lines – really enjoyed it 🙌
Thank you A J – I struggled with the prompt but when I started to reframe them as questions then it really flowed…
I spent darn close to an hour reading, re-reading, attempting to leave answers for each of these provocative questions .. which resulted in my brain doing cartwheels and flip-flops. NOW, see what you have done?
In all seriousness, your questions are not simply food for thought, they are to be feasted upon, digested, and responses are required!!!!!
Thank you so nuch Helen – I hope you have settled diown by now and glad that you have still got something to get your teeth into…
A good poem that is full of food for thought, Andres!
Winning and losing is not always as clear cut as we might like to think.
This one always comes to my mind every time there is a conflict…
What if an enemy soldier
is often not the real enemy
Thanks Dwight – if only certain leaders could read and understand these subtleties but unfortunately they are the very ones who can’t…
Andrew, these are very important questions and each one of us should try to answer honestly. Sadly, the decision makers are not aligned with the common people. Very compelling.
Thank you Punam, asking questions is a more effective way of raising issues than angry rhetoric, I find…