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War Is Kind 
Stephen Crane (1899) 
Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind,
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die.
The unexplained glory flies above them.
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom--
A field where a thousand corpses lie.
Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbles in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.
Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind!
Stephen Crane (1899) Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind,
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die.
The unexplained glory flies above them.
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom--
A field where a thousand corpses lie.
Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbles in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.
Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind!
The 'War is Kind' poem by Stephen Crane seems to be very cynical, Stephen Crane writes this poem as though he doesn't respect life as much as he should and that he isn't optimistic about life either. This poem certainly shows his pessimistic Stephen Crane is about life. During the poem he writes, 'Hoarse booming drums of the regiment, little souls who thirst for fight, these men were born to drill and die. The unexplained glory flies above them.' It seems that he is trying to make a very emotional and strong statement as he tries to question whether during any war, is death worth it or as everything is destroyed. He tries to highlight this point because people believe that wars shouldn’t be fought because they are for the wrong reasons but of course some wars are for the right reason, such as the First World War and the Second World War to stop the invasion of neighboring country throughout Europe and to stop the persecution of the Jewish, Black people, disabled people and to people who Hitler thought was different.
I think that Stephen Crane is trying to tell us that there is never any winner of wars and that Wars, even though they are fought for by the soldiers of two different countries, that there is no winners but just losers as people in conflicts - on both sides - will lose not just soldiers but innocent people who are caught in-between. I believe that Stephen Crane doesn't believe war is important when he goes over the fact that war isn't really worth fighting for but there is a level of sarcasm, in which Stephen Crane uses throughout the poem. He uses, which is also a powerful statement. 'Mother whose heart hung humble as a button on the bright splendid shroud of your son, do not weep. War is kind.' Stephen Crane clearly shows us that any glory or honor in battle has no effect to the family to whom they had lost a father, son, brother, uncle. I think Stephen Crane is trying to question the warfare for everyone and is trying to make people think about what war is really about.
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