War

August 14, 2017

An Infinity of Stars Woven

Within the landscape of time are
the shadows of war residing
casting doubts of fear
over hope filled integrity

for if I could but ease the pain
& erase the memory of horror
that slices through hearts
once laden with joy
I would

but there will always be those
who seek righteousness loaded
with weapons of destruction
their efforts devoid
of compassion

and soldiers who participate
on the battlefields of wars
whether at home or across seas
will carry scars always

and if it were possible within
me as a wordsmith to pen a poem
of salve and healing
I would

so that children may once again play
on peaceful soil under watchful eyes
of mothers and fathers
who can rest assured
of a tomorrow

filled with the spirit of love
& that fireworks will be celebration
& not the deafening voices
of bombs falling

for my soul cannot rest within me
until the vision of the universe
is the essence of peace shining
like an infinity of stars

the threads of woven fabric
like none that has ever been made
containing naught of the shadows of war
but a humanity of peacemakers
the gardeners sowing
seeds for the
future

This is in response to Jamie Dedes’s Wednesday Prompt. Please read more poets responses at https://jamiededes.com/2017/08/09/do-not-make-war-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. The photo below was taken from the Morgue File and digitally altered by myself.

Field of Peacemakers

June 26, 2017

The Star Second To The Right

In a time primordial when first life began
unimaginative of the harsh realities of wars
when sunrises and sunsets were ethereal
she can only imagine stepping into dreams
of discovering an unblemished world of those
dreams made of translucent skies so that
much like Peter all she has to do is to go
to the star second to the right and straight
on till morning or perhaps like Alice she
should eat but a small bit of cake to become
just the right size to enter the garden
there upon discovering a different world
for in seeing forever is the powerful force
where oceans teeming with life are no longer
a graveyard of war ships but only coral reefs
a delightful dance of colors and creatures
and where gardens floral are wondrous delights
for children playing for hate is not a word
so cannot invade her dreams that will always
be pristine as newly fallen snow in Winter
with skies so clear she can revel to see them all
from anywhere to blissfully fly to the star second
to the right and straight on till morning

This is in response to Jamie Dede’s Wednesday prompt. You can read more of other poet’s responses at https://jamiededes.com/2017/06/21/the-hawk-has-flown-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. The photo below was taken from the Morgue File and digitized by myself.

August 10, 2016

WATCHING WITH HOPE

The powers that be say some
something more than say others
free will a gift?
to what cost

the expense of war
the ravages of war
death for following
death for an ideal

The powers that be say some
something more than say others
free will a gift?
to what cost

the rape of women
the death of girls
not a choice
not part of freedom

The powers that be say some
something more than say others
free will a gift?
to what cost

children starving
disease going unchecked
trapped in poverty
knowledge for the few

The powers that be say some
something more than say others
watching with hope
to what cost

This is for Wednesday’s Prompt from Jamie Dedes at https://musingbymoonlight.com
Who really is to blame for all the ills of the world…or is it really something more.

Image Taken From Morgue File & Digitized by Myself

Hope More Than

December 14, 2015December 22, 2015

STORY OF HERITAGE AND LOVE

Humanity, family, individuals, you & me
all connected by a universal family tree
black and white photo of a married couple
telling me a story of heritage and love

Migrated to Mexico,then on to freedom
real or imagined, a family in my homeland
their names Fabian and Julia Naegelin
met in a far away providence Alsace Lorraine

They will never see what the world is now
a world always replanted in fields fallow
with lives lost justified on shifting ideals
none of which is tangible, none of which is real

The horrors of war, of misguided youth
taking lives of those whom they should sleuth
of their histories that brought them close
that they really know each others’ shores

Humanity, family, individuals, you & me
all connected by a universal family tree
black and white photo of a married couple
telling me a story of heritage and love

The image below is a restaurant in Lyon, France but could be a restaurant anywhere in the world. Recently there were lives lost in France for ideals that are, tragically, only that…ideals. It is important to have ideals but they should not be taken to the extreme causing what is really important to be lost to us all.The reality of people’s lives lost and how really, we are all connected to each other in a genetically complex puzzle that will never be fully known, and that those genetics means we are all connected intrinsically to one another gave rise to this prose. My heart goes out to all those whose families are touched by this and many other real events that happen in our lives as life continues to move forward.

Image Taken From Morgue File

Heritage

September 29, 2013September 29, 2013

I Considered Myself

Google Image

I consider myself to be
a peaceful person
living in a place
not fraught with war
void of detonating bombs
fragments of life gone

I consider myself but
to no avail
for the rumbling of war
has never been far
as off in the distance
on foreign soils
it creeps very close
to my own back door

I considered myself to be
living my life apart
even during Viet Nam years
seen on broadcast news
of death and others tears
of something I was
unable to touch

I considered myself & then
my son joined in the ranks
of men and women called
to fight in a war fueled
by the inner turmoil
of a people distant
and out of sight

I considered myself to be
untouched by the carnage
the destruction of
people unknown to me
whose lives were
never mentioned

I considered myself & then
you came home & you
seemed different
for you brought the
memories with you
that now touch my life
to forever affect it
with war

I have known many who became soldiers. My own father and his brothers fought in World War II, my brother was in service during Viet Nam but did not see battle. But when my own son went to the Middle East, even though he was fortunate enough not to have had to be in a battle, he saw enough of the aftermath, that it has affected his life in ways I will never be able to understand. For most soldiers do not speak of what they have seen and heard but these things, I know, cannot be erased from memory.

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