Your remember how
after The Great War
the Hun was humbled
beaten back, busted and abused
and made to pay the victors’ fees
and everybody lived happily ever after?

Do you recall
how there was never ever a battle after that
and the War to End All Wars
was followed by peace and plenty
for the Greatest Generation?

That’s how it always is:
crush your enemies
make them submit
repeatedly
and then
you never have to keep your eye on them ever again.

Uncivil wars always end
at the point of defeat
and reconstruction
is frequently a couple of messy weeks
before peace and prosperity is provided to all.

This is how fights usually end.
This is how combat is staved.
This is how we’ll win this war
and the next
and all the many wars to follow.