War Without End

How did you get so east-side baptized?
How did you get that flag unfurled?
How did you get from one side of the
city to the other side of the world?

How did it come to two clear solitudes?
How did it come to war without end?
The stray mines between the lines of
the letters that we always mean to send

A cool callow unspoken alliance
Is this hard-won radio silence
A long bitter unbroken reliance
On this conspiracy of silence

How can it be so hard to sign a cease-fire?
How can you read between enemy lines?
The bitter terms of the rules of this
engagement we've forced ourselves to sign

There's a bunker of regret that you're defending
And there's a trench in my soldier's heart
Not only can I not imagine this
ending, I can't remember when it started

Hey, hey, hip, hip, you young lions
Long live the radio silence
I wanna know, is it stupid when we suffer?
I wanna know, is it all for nothing?

How'd it come to this?
I wonder howâ!
That's the question we're never prepared for
That's the window we can't see through
That's that little sweet smile that
you get when you can't believe it's true