Comment from Pamusart

Excellent

Hi Craig. I did kind of know what this word meant. Hannibal was brutal. What the US did after World War 2 was unusual. And now trump is trying to stoke war. He is a Putin puppet. Good job on the poem. Thank you for sharing

 Comment Written 30-Jun-2018

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reply by the author on 01-Jul-2018

Many thanks, Pam. He is a child trying to play a man's game. Incredibly frightening stuff. Cheers, Craig

Comment from Dawn Munro

Excellent

Oh. We were talking about nations. And here I was, making it all about Mars versus Venus (who is seldom wrong, I might add. (*smirk*)
All kidding aside, Craig - yoo de man!

 Comment Written 30-Jun-2018

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reply by the author on 30-Jun-2018

As a matter of fact, Venus is quite often wrong. It's just that only a very brave / foolish Mars would point it out. Many thanks, Dawn.

reply by Dawn Munro on 02-Jul-2018

LOL. Wrong.

Comment from Joy Graham

Excellent

Wow, I wouldn't want to get that word in a spelling bee. It's hard to spell and hard to pronounce. Also sounds like some kind of sauce for sandwiches at Subway. "would you like any carthaginian sauce on your sandwich, sir?" Whew. I may not forget this word for a while. It's even in my spell check. Weird.

Joy xx

 Comment Written 29-Jun-2018

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reply by the author on 30-Jun-2018

Thanks so much, Joy. It's hard to beat good old tomato sauce, for my money.

Comment from catch22

Excellent

Hi Craig, I really like the word of the day and its usage here. It comes from the battle of Carthage, which was a particularly tragic historical event. I really like the end rhyming of live and punitive. The cadence worked well for me too. Excellent tongue in cheek conclusion as well about war.

 Comment Written 29-Jun-2018

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reply by the author on 29-Jun-2018

Thanks again, Pam, for a great review. I'm glad you enjoyed the poem :) Craig

Comment from lyenochka

Excellent

That's a great phrase to know but not many know about the Battle of Carthage (including me!) so I think it won't mean much to today's audience. I think any war leaves everyone poor.

 Comment Written 28-Jun-2018

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reply by the author on 29-Jun-2018

That's very true, Helen. Much appreciated - Craig

Comment from Gloria ....

Excellent

Yes and this retaliatory outcome must be where the term take no prisoners comes from.

Excellent poem in a few words and the terminal method for finding the truth, it doesn't pay to go to war.

Great job, friend, Craig. :)

Gloria

 Comment Written 28-Jun-2018

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reply by the author on 28-Jun-2018

Thanks for the excellent review, Gloria - much appreciated. Craig

Comment from tfawcus

Excellent

Not good to be on the losing side in those days. I enjoyed your 'conclude/screwed' rhyme pair. Even those conquered by Rome were apt to be decimated - still at least in that case there was a 90% chance of survival.

 Comment Written 28-Jun-2018

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reply by the author on 28-Jun-2018

Thanks very much, Tony. Yes, the odds are somewhat less now that we've become so much more efficient at killing each other. Cheers, Craig

Comment from Sandra Elizabeth Williams

Excellent

I love the rhymes, I love the sentiments expressed and I love the educational aspect of your poem.

Very nice of you to share your knowledge with us CDR.

 Comment Written 28-Jun-2018

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reply by the author on 28-Jun-2018

Thanks so much for the lovely comments, Sandra. They are greatly appreciated. Craig

reply by Sandra Elizabeth Williams on 29-Jun-2018

You are welcome!

Comment from Mustang Patty

Excellent

Hi, Craig,

You know, in the case of World War II, I wonder just effective the Carthaginian Peace was for the Japanese and Germans.

We moved our troops into Germany and rebuilt their roads, communication systems, and while we kept them from building another Army, we shouldered the expense of securing their borders. (This left them money and funding for many other projects.)

We did the same things in Japan. (Japan and Germany are both much better off for our efforts. Japan has beat us in advancements in the worlds of technology, while German scientists were left to explore other avenues after they created the Atom Bomb.)

Did we win?

~patty~

 Comment Written 28-Jun-2018

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reply by the author on 28-Jun-2018

A lot of people died needlessly. That's war. Who gets to decide who is at fault after a war? The winner. The strongest side. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. No one wins, humanity loses. Many thanks, Patty - Craig

Comment from Sandra du Plessis

Excellent

A very well-written poem about war and peace after war that can be very hard on the losing side who has to pay penalties to the winning party, as if the consequences of war is not enough punishment.

 Comment Written 28-Jun-2018

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reply by the author on 28-Jun-2018

Exactly right, Sandra. Many thanks for reviewing - Craig