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A review by robk
The War Prayer by Mark Twain
4.0
This little poem (to be fair, I don't know if the work is originally poetry, or if the publisher stylized this as a poem) is a wonderful indictment of blind patriotism during war time. I picked this up because I didn't know that Twain had written poetry, and I was curious to see what his verse had to offer.
The War Prayer was classic Twain. Slightly sardonic, tongue-in-cheek, while also being insightful, clever and profound. Twain tells of a town whose men are preparing to march to battle. The Sunday before the fight is to begin, the preacher, in front of a packed congregation, prays for a victory. During the pontifical prayer, a man dressed in a white robe walks to the front of the congregation and offers another prayer, emphasizing the destruction, death, suffering and misery that a victory would necessarily bring the opposition. In praying for victory, we are saying two prayers, Twain says.
It reminded me of my high school football days. Before games, I used to say a prayer, asking God to bless my team with a win. After a while, however, I realized that players on the other team were also praying for victory. I began to see how foolish it is to pray for victory because, if God loves all his children, he can't pick sides in a measly high school football game. War is similar, I believe. It is one thing to pray for a speedy resolution. It is one thing to pray for the health and safety of soldiers. Praying for victory, however, is another thing: it is praying for someone to lose, someone to die.
The War Prayer was classic Twain. Slightly sardonic, tongue-in-cheek, while also being insightful, clever and profound. Twain tells of a town whose men are preparing to march to battle. The Sunday before the fight is to begin, the preacher, in front of a packed congregation, prays for a victory. During the pontifical prayer, a man dressed in a white robe walks to the front of the congregation and offers another prayer, emphasizing the destruction, death, suffering and misery that a victory would necessarily bring the opposition. In praying for victory, we are saying two prayers, Twain says.
It reminded me of my high school football days. Before games, I used to say a prayer, asking God to bless my team with a win. After a while, however, I realized that players on the other team were also praying for victory. I began to see how foolish it is to pray for victory because, if God loves all his children, he can't pick sides in a measly high school football game. War is similar, I believe. It is one thing to pray for a speedy resolution. It is one thing to pray for the health and safety of soldiers. Praying for victory, however, is another thing: it is praying for someone to lose, someone to die.