Appeasement
There’s insistence amongst political
Gangsters that only bellicosity
Can deter a rival’s ferocity;
Be a serpent, not a worm that turns tail,
With the inevitable consequence,
Of aggressors taking encouragement
From any expressed pacific intent.
Munich’s often cited, with an implied sense
It is moral turpitude and weakness
To insist war is a terrible waste,
While any real peace can only be based
On martialled military means to impress.
Alternatives, however realistic,
Tend to send politicians ballistic.
D. A.