There Is No Time for War
by @reveriesinred
There is no time for war.
Not in this century that scrapes the day to gristle-gray.
Time is not neutral anymore.
We call hunger discipline; we bolt the tender at the door.
We’re told to breathe—then buried under lungs we drag all day.
There is no time for war.
They sell us “safety” sweet as care, then chloroform the core,
then name the violence “necessary”—a virtue they replay.
Time is not neutral anymore.
Tyranny won’t knock. It settles like silt along the floor.
Trillions into armories—each year a higher stairway.
There is no time for war.
We cradle nuclear fire—twelve thousand reasons off the shore;
names crushed into coordinates; we learn to look away.
Time is not neutral anymore.
A world so wired it should save us, yet it asks for more—
platforms harvest centuries of attention; we scroll ourselves to fray.
There is no time for war.
Time is not neutral anymore.
References
Ahlander, Johan. “World Military Spending Hits $2.7 Trillion in Record 2024 Surge.” Reuters, 27 Apr. 2025, https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/world-military-spending-hits-27-trillion-record-2024-surge-2025-04-27/. (Reuters)
Kristensen, Hans M., and Matt Korda. “World Nuclear Forces.” SIPRI Yearbook 2025, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2025, https://www.sipri.org/yearbook/2025/06. (SIPRI)
Liang, Xiao, et al. Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2024. SIPRI Fact Sheet, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Apr. 2025, https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2025-04/2504_fs_milex_2024.pdf. (SIPRI)
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. “Nuclear Risks Grow as New Arms Race Looms—New SIPRI Yearbook Out Now.” SIPRI, 16 June 2025, https://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2025/nuclear-risks-grow-new-arms-race-looms-new-sipri-yearbook-out-now. (SIPRI)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (A/80/12). United Nations, 2025, https://documents.un.org/access.nsf/get?DS=A%2F80%2F12&Lang=E&Open=.
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