The Longest War

No one really knows.
Some rivalries
Last for centuries

With frequent outbreaks
Of hostilities,
But are those one war?

The true longest war
Is one you’re caught in
Or one that seemed short

Or seemed to recede
But never ended
And blossomed again.

The longest war is
Anticlimactic
But continuous,

Like one of those fires
Burning underground,
Begun in coal mines,

Eating neighborhoods,
Acreage, counties,
Creating ghost towns.

It sneaks up on you
To devour your world,
The world’s longest war.