War and Peace and Poetry

Book excerpt: War and Peace and Poetry was inspired by the everyday lives of American soldiers. Their stories and the lives they live while deployed to Iraq are chronicled in these verses, as well as some of author Lonnie D. Ellis's childhood memories of growing up in the Deep South. Many of the poems in this collection address war and its effects on families. They reflect the emotions of the soldiers, their spouses, and their children, who have to deal with the realities of war. Ellis touches on a facet of life that reflects each individual family member. "Daddy, Don't Go" was inspired by his personal experience with his children and the children of his fellow soldiers as they prepared to deploy from Fort Stewart. It was, by far, the most difficult poem he has written. He wrote the poem "The Journey" after speaking with many of his friends and hearing about the loneliness of their spouses and loved ones. The poem say to them, "I am there with you in spirit always, even if I cannot be with you physically." War and Peace and Poetry offers a soldier's perspective on the sacrifices made during war and tells the stories of soldiers and their families with heartfelt emotion.