Candy Land

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Candy Land

Soldiers waging war with flowers
bullets made of candy sours
everything one could devour
messing with their willpower.

All the men had taken vows
but had an urge for candy now-
they missed the posted sign somehow:
Eating Candy Is Not Allowed!

Licorice trees and sugar sand
it was more than they could stand
their bellies filled on enemy land
now, candy fell from useless hands.

The warning sign-a bitter pill
the candy took away free will.
Standing very,
############very,
##################STILL.
Gummy soldiers on the hill.

© Rebecca Sanchez 2014

I originally wrote about this image for Magpie Tales and animated it. Shared with my friends at Poets United on this quiet Sunday.

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Returning from the war I locked away my gun
put away my uniform and that part of me
I was already damaged and not quite whole
thrown back into the world with bleak uncertainty
doubt funnels through my brain like a sieve
while I sit on a slab of ebbing confusing emotions
a large oscillating wave of self-doubt pressing against me
it never leaves me even when I pretend to sleep
I feel it’s weight upon me even now as I try to speak
a cell-block encasing my heart even though I try to break free
I ask my maker every day, what will become of me?

© Rebecca Sanchez 2018

The prompt was weapon and I could have added it to the poem but this (fantasy) soldier is a weapon himself, taught to both use and become a weapon. Once home, our soldiers find it hard to turn off these learned behaviors and stop the bad memories from returning home with them.

Deactivate-remove from active duty in the military.

I used the animated GIF to write my poem and found it during a Google image search.

Written with my friends at Poets United.

Keep It Complicated

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Keep It Complicated

A complicated man keeps it complicated
a silver-tongued devil come to play
crafts his stories to keep them guessing
won’t let words get in his way.

A complicated man likes his chaos
always up for something new
waging war on those who question
the exciting things he wants to do.

A complicated man will have it his way
charming them, so they can’t tell
doesn’t care whose lives he’s changing
smiling as he drops his bombshells.

A complicated man keeps it confusing
you’ll never know what’s on his mind
keeping it simple is simply boring
sometimes the blind, does lead the blind.

© Rebecca Sanchez 2018

Written with my friends at dVerse~Poets Pub. The prompt was to pick a poem and answer it with a new poem in the same style. Say Something Simple is the poem I picked and Keep It Complicated is my answer.

Say Something Simple

A simple man keeps things simple
starts with a letter makes a word
extends a sentence to a paragraph
makes one fly off like a bird

A simple man likes to be at peace
always at ease collective and calm
not letting anyone ruffle him
turning it all to be a healing balm

A simple man is a real economiser
making sure nothing is a waste
so everything is used to the full
adding a flavour to make it taste

A simple man likes not to elaborate
for some people just can’t understand
so keeping it simple is always safe
for many heads get stuck in the sand!

Copyright © Gordon McConnell | Year Posted 2018
From Poetry Soup

Broken

losingmysoulbekkiesanchez

Broken

My heart breaks when I watch what’s happening in the world today
we have truly lost our minds in America letting ourselves be treated like cattle
being herded in whatever direction the political wind blows
we’ve given up, even if it leads us to the slaughterhouse
the invisible lines that separate us are turning into Trump-like walls
our history has taught us nothing as racial tensions separate us further respect for the people that protect us is gone, replaced by mistrust fueled by violence and ignorance
men are still in power pushing their sexual agendas on their victims
keeping women under their thumb as they get less pay for the same jobs
the house and senate don’t care about the people’s will, it’s all about their own agendas
our government is corrupt, greedy and we let them get away with it
cell phones have invaded the earth and people are transfixed by them
social interaction online has taken the place of real friendship
growing homeless camps are ignored and tolerated rather than helped
we think we’re paying taxes for a good cause then the money is spent elsewhere and we’re taxed for it again
although half of the people living now are 65, they can’t work because the jobs are given to younger people
they face higher costs for living every year while the retirement age goes up and benefits get cut
we pay a fortune for insurance many going without when other countries have health care for all
even with insurance many go without glasses, dental care and more
simple kindness and decency seem lost while our jails and prisons open their doors letting felons out for good behavior
we are losing touch with each other and we don’t know who to trust letting fear paralyze us
it’s difficult to know how to proceed when the psyche of countless people in our country are bruised and we’re bleeding out
I did as I’ve been told the system has let me down and I feel taken advantage of.

Some believe the soul is immortal, even so, our bodies are limited
we’re only here once and should be enjoying what this wonderful planet has to offer
instead, this is what we sow, this is how we spend this precious time
we vote and hope for a better life only to be fed fake news and tricked into submission
country against country, race against race, religion against religion-it never ends
right now, children are starving, being raped and abused, put into slavery, taught to shoot guns and carry bombs
my heart breaks when I watch what’s happening to the people of this world,
when do we say, how do we say,
777777777777777777AAAAAAAAAAAenough!

© Rebecca Sanchez 2018

I’m a fan of brevity in poetry but this poem practically wrote itself and could have been longer. I don’t pretend to have the answers but I do know these things are going to take more than time to get better. History will show that’s usually through violence and war. We need to be strong and make ourselves heard through numbers.

Written with my friends at Poets United for the prompt psyche/soul. I animated the artwork.

Hitler’s Bathtub

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Hitler’s Bathtub

I dreamed I took a bath in Hitler’s bathtub
he told me it would be better than taking a shower
I got a fluffy towel instead of an unmarked grave.

© Rebecca Sanchez 2017

War correspondent Lee Miller taking a bath in Hitler’s own bathtub, inside his abandoned apartment. The photo was taken on the same day that Hitler committed suicide. Munich, Germany – April 30, 1945. I got this image from a Google image search wrote about and animated it.

Written for the prompt irony at dVerse~Poets Pub.

Plant Of Joy

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Plant Of Joy

An international symbol
of those who die in war
a symbol of peace.
So what do we fight them for?

War is the poppy of mankind
it’s a drug we can’t live without
the flower the color of blood
in empty battlefields they sprout.

We crave war’s victories
and the freedoms we think it brings
but one side has to lose
one side has to die
and it’s not the side that’s right
or the side that’s wrong
it’s the side that kills
and the side that’s strong.

No matter how long peace reins
there are always men dreaming of war
no matter how many people die
no matter what is being fought for.

War is an ungodly practice
so often done in the name of God.

© RebekkaSanchez2015

Magpie Tales 293