Generals and presidents approach war as a vast struggle. But war, at its most achingly real, happens not to armies, but to individuals.

Nicholas Kristof shares the best of war poetry from his readers. I don't often read poetry, but these poems are heartfelt.

I stood, dumb as a cow, and watched two choppers
Collide like fists and spin across the sky.

My heart swells in my chest and while I laugh,
I feel fear, smell a faint stench of insanity.

I beg you, as you begged me,
Tell me what I can do
To make you forget
That my people never remember.