Poem: A Drop in the Ocean

You ask me why people fought,
in those bloody and violent battles,
why they were willing to sacrifice themselves to a greater cause. Why they fought those wars.
Well my grandson, wars are not fought for fun.
When your homeland is colonised, and your culture is being eroded, you are not afforded any choice in the matter.
In 1931 Japan struck Manchuria, a false flag event,
so they could prevent the blame for the attack being laid at their door, wait though there is more,
they called the resistance a drop in the ocean,
it started with 100 men, led by Kim Il Sung,
a master tactician, it was their mission to defeat the colonisers,
the start of a volunteer army.
There had been resistance before,
in Korea 1919,
two million took to the streets, demanding independence,
they were put down,
many arrested, while they protested,
many injured, and many killed.
My own father fought in the volunteer army,
packed off to China to fight the invaders.
That is where he met Comrade Chang,
in that photo over there,
they bridged the barrier between their language,
Chang was in the CPC,
but both were invested and interested in photography.
They had little time for photos though,
fighting battle after battle,
having to tackle tough terrain,
and suffered defeats again and again.
The Japanese troops favoured heavy artillery,
which was little use at the battle of Taierzhuang,
where fought my father and Chang,
the urban warfare meant close quarters combat reigned,
and artillery could not rain down death,
in those cramped conditions.
Fighting was done by bayonet, by gun and grenade,
a first decisive victory for China was made.
Though here father lost Comrade Chang,
those battles were brutal, those battles were long.
He returned to Korea 1,000 years old,
suffered the traumas of war I am told.
It all ended in 1945,
when Hirohito consigned himself to defeat,
Koreans and Chinese alike, held back one million Japanese troops,
allowing for victory over fascism,
and freeing us from Japanese colonisation. Though America still has troops in the south.
My father fought these bloody and violent battles, not because he enjoyed them,
though he did make some friends,
he fought for a better future,
that war ended 80 years ago,
and though there have been battles anew,
our nation grew out of the sacrifice of others, people who fought before us,
laid their lives before us,
to ensure us a better life,
because dear grandson,
your great-grandfather wanted you,
to never have to pick up a gun.