War Is a Foreign Currency

War is a foreign currency
When I see it, I know intellectually
There are others that carry it
Though ugly and grotesque
    Funny papers and garish hues

But I don’t see what it is good for
I can’t spend it
I don’t know how to get rid of it
So it gets stuffed in a shoebox
    The memory uncomfortable to bear

It isn’t an asset
When it crosses borders
The locals hate it
What good is it?
    A banker may know

War is foreign currency
I have no way to balance out
The loss I will take
When it’s given back to me as change

20 Mar 03 © Jonathan Russell