I just thought that this poem was sad, beautiful, and very profound when I read it.  I knew nothing about the author and still know very little.  I recognize now how little we truly know about the history of anyone or anything and how easily the past (and even the present) can be misrepresented or misinterpreted.  We want to be able to label events and people as either good or bad and place them in a category based on our own biases and perspective.  Taking this shortcut will never bring us closer to actual understanding nor closer to the truth.  

From the little I have read, Bertholt was a German poet, screenwriter, dramatist, and stage director.  He was very much opposed to the Nazi movement in Germany and moved many times to other countries, including the United States.  He was also befriended by a staunch supporter of Karl Marx who gained the support and sympathy to his cause from Bertholt.  Now it is quite easy to look back on history to see that the funders, donors, and propagandist pushers of Marx and his work were not friends of the people and that true Communism as laid out in theory has never been made a reality.  At the time and with what information and circumstances people had to work with, it is more than understandable why Marx's surface message would not only sound appealing, but seem like the "right" thing to do.  It is easy for idealists to want something to believe in, especially when you feel as if you are part of the rebellion to an inhumane system.  Unfortunately there will always be wolves in sheep's clothing that take advantage of our inherent sense of fairness and justice.  They can manipulate our compassion as means to an end with an even more unfortunate fate.

I feel that this poem describes a deep realization that he had along the way and was an introspective look upon what it means to fight for something so much that you lose or miss out on the very things worth fighting for.  It makes us reflect on many things, including how good and easy we have had it comparatively to many others throughout history.  It makes us wonder if we are right with our limited view on the world.  It makes us contemplate if we are missing out on the most precious things and feelings that life has to offer because we feel wronged or because we spend our time fighting for something that someone else told us to fight for or playing a game that can only be won by not playing.  I hope this poem makes your heart hurt a little and makes your mind ponder a little more.

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World War poetry, idealism, idealist, creative writing, poetry reading, classic poem, journal, art