A sketch depicting the juxtaposition of the roar of war and the calm of peace. Happy viewing! R

Here's a poem to accompany it:

War And Peace

The screams through my ears stream and spill
In the wake of the slam and smash
And squish and squelch of War's ill will
And Death's dark doom as the pair dash
And tear through my comrades in arms.
The air is thick with stinks and reeks;
Each heavy breath my breast alarms
As through the haze, grim War's scythe streaks;
To him flesh yields; from him blood runs
In spurts to match a heart that beats
Within Fear's grasp which starts and stuns
The flow that throngs my head and heats
My skin. The stench, the sights, the roar;
They whittle my wits sharp and keen,
To guide me through the fog of War,
And cue my part in the next scene.

Before the curtain falls on me,
A moment of your time, I pray.
Just one, sweet Peace, come visit me
Amidst the fury of the fray,
And turn my eyes to sumptuous sights
Of fleeting heaven; grassy glades
And beds of flowers on sun-kissed heights.
My ears to the strains of cascades
And trickling brooks attune anew.
Flood them with birdsong, make them ring
With mirth. Plug my nose with the dew
Of winter morns and hazy spring-
Forgotten scents of pleasant times
When my heart like a feather light
Strummed tender tunes and carefree chimes;
Free from the tug of flight and fright.

For just one moment, Peace, I pray,
To see Heaven, to hear, to smell
Sweet bliss before I'm borne away
By War's tide to the gates of Hell.