Peacekeeper - sometimes a soldier is there only for the visual

Podcast Poetry

Artwork: a royalty-free stock image I used as it highlights in a humorous way the futility and irony that come up in conflict situations. Large view)

In the theatre of war the script often calls for serviceman to be visible but do nothing. Sometimes it's just a case of being at a location in order to make a statement on behalf of the puppet masters.

The presence of a handful of soldiers in an armoured personnel carrier waiting by the roadside in a foreign country while thousands of its citizens, armed to the teeth, march by on their way to confront their local religious or political rivals, equal in numbers and weapons, can only be for show. But, of course, a show can end badly.

Peacekeeper offers an image of such a scenario. The show ends well this time. The written version of Peacekeeper can be found in the Transcript.

(The intro music ends at 00:35)

In case you're wondering about stanza three, line 2 (marines and sailors) -

The phrase tell that to the marines is a scornful expression of disbelief. In A Concise Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1993), B. A. Phythian explained:

Marines were originally soldiers raised for sea-service (originally in the seventeenth century) and trained for maritime warfare. As such they were looked down on by sailors, who saw themselves as skilled members of a senior service; in fact, soldiers at that time were not highly regarded by anyone. The phrase originated in naval circles with the implication that marines were ignorant enough to believe anything.

This phrase was originally he may tell that to the marines, but the sailors will not believe him, and variants.

https://wordhistories.net/2016/09/14/tell-that-to-the-marines/