It was a scuffle to begin with,
not much to do with oil, said the gabfests,
and Life was snuffed out for some folks over Desert Storm.

Then came the demand for the bottomless barrel,
never enough, blind to the investment
until finally there was none left to demand.

It never was ours. Is there any left to sell?
The biggest customer blew it up.
When the rick-o-shay was over, there were no more takers.

BUT, if we read backwards,

Once there was no need
and soldiers died for other things,
or just fell into homegrown wells upon occasion.

Then the thirst became a gluttony,
on to killing so to steal
the coveted prize while telling lies about puny villains.

Meanwhile, so much was destroyed
and imbalanced,
that all one wanted was a fresh pitcher of water.

BUT, who will look forward?

Clean water was too scarce,
taken from the old wells,
and their oil long gone. The people died for water.

Wary. Be wary for the life-giving Earth
for be she destroyed.
who will nurture us? How then shall we live, or where?

Air currents, water currents, tectonic plates move as one
to the dance of laser beams and bombs,
but the dust will blanket all and end the telling forever.