[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 80 (Wednesday, June 22, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                             NO WAY TO WIN

                                 ______


                          HON. CHARLES WILSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 22, 1994

  Mr. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, colleagues, I recently received a poem 
written by a life-long friend and neighbor of mine from Liberty, TX. 
The message in this poem is timeless, but perhaps also timely, 
considering the problems we face today in Washington.
  I request that my friend Pastor Eldon L. Reed's letter, and the poem 
by our mutual friend Dr. E. Winston Cochran, be entered into the 
Record.

                                            Wildwood-Village Mills


                                       United Methodist Church

                                       Wildwood, TX, May 11, 1994.
     Hon. Charles Wilson,
     Lufkin, TX.
       Dear Congressman Wilson: Some years ago Dr. E. Winston 
     Cochran, while on a deer hunt, came upon a spectacular scene 
     in the woods near Lufkin. It was the skeletons of two big 
     bucks whose horns had became interlocked in a fight and had 
     died.
       Dr. Cochran is widely known and very popular throughout the 
     Southeast Texas areas, having been in the practice of 
     Psychiatry for nearly forty (40) years.
       He began writing poetry when he was a battalion surgeon 
     with the Marines in World War II. He has had several books 
     published.
       Back to the finding of the skeletal remains of two bucks. 
     He wrote a poem entitled ``No Way to Win'', which is a plea 
     for reason and peace in human affairs. I am sending you a 
     copy in the hope you can have it inserted into the 
     Congressional Record and then have a much wider readership. 
     Maybe thousands could benefit from the message.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                    Eldon L. Reed,
                                                            Pastor
                                  ____


                             No Way To Win

     I've always loved God's great outdoors,
     So many things to see,
     So much to learn about our world
     That changes constantly,
     And truths of life are all around
     Awaiting our comprehension
     If we will linger long enough
     To give them our close attention.

     Not long ago on one of my
     Excursions through the wood
     I shuddered that a tragic scene
     Had transpired where I stood.
     There on the bloodstained ground before me
     Laid the last remains
     Of two great bucks who died in conflict
     Over their domains.

     With antlers locked in deadly combat
     Over who was boss,
     The victims of their own aggression,
     Both had suffered loss.
     To death they struggled, on and on,
     And neither could shake free,
     'Til weak from hunger, thirst, fatigue,
     They could no longer flee.

     The predators could then close in
     And deal the fatal blow.
     Just what went on those final hours
     We will never know.
     Their skeletons laid end to end
     With antlers still locked tight,
     Mute evidence of what had been
     A long and futile fight.

     A fight for what? Who was the best?
     Or who should rule the realm?
     Or who should win the lady fair?
     Or who should take the helm?
     Whatever cause they sought to serve
     They could not compromise.
     Their inability to reason
     Hastened their demise.

     Aggression brought them to the brink,
     The point of no return,
     And how to extricate themselves
     Became their prime concern,
     But now defenseless, these great bucks
     Became an easy prey
     For creatures they would not have feared
     On any other day.

     We humans should have better sense,
     But I'm not sure we do.
     We conjure up all sorts of means
     Of self destruction too.
     We stockpile weapons in the fear
     That others might attack,
     Until one day we, too, might find
     No way of turning back.

     But surely our capacity
     To reason should prevail.
     Considering alternatives
     We can't afford to fail.
     Instead of piling up more weapons
     We should all begin
     To recognize on such a course
     There is no way to win!
     E. Winston Cochran

                          ____________________