Balance and Power

The Antichrist - Image Source:

Balance and Power

The Sensei said I was too young
The starting age was seven.
But when I lifted him off the ground
he thought he’d gone to heaven.
For here before him was a little lad
with strength enough for two
and with all this pent up power
I didn’t know what to do.

Nothing seemed too much for me
I’d always have a go.
I knew that I could do it
and this knowledge made it so.
To me, my strength
lay harboured in my brain.
If I could see it in my mind
I could lift it like a crane.

It made me pretty dangerous
at play with other lads.
I tended to overdo it
and this concerned my Dad.
So here I was in front of Sensei
being invited to ‘have a go’;
his aim to teach me self-control
by teaching me Judo.

I quickly learnt the basics
as through the belts I rose.
That timing, technique and balance
can any strength oppose.
But there’s one important lesson
The one that’s really key;
It’s better to avoid a scrap
then to engage an enemy.

I learnt all this at age of six
and I watch with desperation
as government after government
sends troops on Operations.
Our Armed Forces are amazing,
They’re brave, well trained and strong.
but they’re ham strung by politicians
who so often get it wrong.

Its not that they’re dim whited
or that they’re often bent,
it’s just that they can’t balance
party line and sense.
They’re so concerned with scoring points
across the Commons floor
That they seem to forget the basic rule;
Is walk away from war.

John Carré Buchanan
04 February 2012