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Sky of Fireflies

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For Inky's contest - 2/12/25
My head feels like it's being squeezed in a vise. Eardrums must have blown out from the explosion since I hear absolutely nothing, not even my own breath. Slowly rising to my feet I survey the damage. Left arm gone from the elbow down. Flesh hangs from my right forearm exposing bone and sinew. I don't even want to know what my face looks like but my cheeks are burning white hot. Suddenly, I am keenly aware of the immediate surroundings. The twenty story office building I call my second home is utterly destroyed. Smoke and haze are everywhere. An acrid odor fills my nostrils with each breath. Scanning the vicinity I see body parts strewn about. The urge to vomit overwhelms me. Afterward, I begin to shake and sob uncontrollably. My God, why? Home is five blocks away. My wife, my daughter are they alive? No idea how many bombs were dropped. Must get home. Each step brings excruciating pain, but the adrenalin pulsing through my veins impels me forward. Finally reaching my neighborhood, it quickly becomes evident that it too was targeted. Rubble and debris surrounds me. In the distance, what was my house, leveled to the ground. The cries, the screams of others sifting through the debris make me question my sanity did my hearing return or are the screams in my head? Reality sets in coldly as I discover the bodies of my family, partially buried under the rubble. I have no more tears in this moment. Instead, my mind drifts back to former days happy times. Myself, Najwa and baby, lying in our back yard on a comfy blanket, staring up at the stars, watching the fireflies softly flicker in a dreamy, summer night sky. We had peace then. Now there is nothing but bitterness and hatred in my heart. I gaze at the sky, now black as sin. All the stars are there. But the fireflies they're gone. I can't help but wonder, what will become of me? Flicker flicker fly Stars above to light the sky Angels weep goodbye

Copyright © | Year Posted 2025




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Date: 3/16/2025 10:57:00 AM
This poem captures emotions so well. You are an amazing poet. I can almost feel like I am there experiencing all of that.
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Tom Woody
Date: 3/16/2025 6:13:00 PM
Appreciate the kind remarks
Date: 2/26/2025 12:58:00 AM
You have expressed the raw inhumanity of war/conflict in this one from the victims POV...It is gut wrenching, through this poem, to ponder what we "humans" do to each other (or are capable of)...
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/26/2025 5:51:00 AM
Man's inhumanity to man rages on. Thanks Mo
Date: 2/25/2025 2:58:00 PM
This piece is absolutely devastating--raw, visceral, and deeply haunting. The sensory detail is so intense that I could feel every moment, from the crushing silence to the burning pain and the acrid stench of destruction. The fragmented structure and spacing mirror the protagonist’s shock and disorientation, making it feel all the more immersive. That last haiku is a perfect gut-punch; it lingers like the final, fading light of something that can never return.
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/25/2025 3:11:00 PM
Boy, I think your comment was better than the poem. Thx much
Date: 2/24/2025 5:50:00 AM
Hi Tom, an apocalyptic nightmare you described so hauntingly. The fireflies addition was very poetic. My very best wishes for the contest with such a strong entry. God's bounty and blessings.
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/24/2025 5:59:00 AM
Contest was judged. Thx for input Regina
Date: 2/23/2025 5:18:00 PM
Tom, this vividly descriptive, riveting piece deserves the wins! Janice
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/23/2025 5:44:00 PM
Kewl thx
Date: 2/23/2025 10:10:00 AM
i was just gone for a week or so and here you are planting seeds of haibun without my permission...how dare you win two awards , potd and ink's, with all that debris and rubble on your work! lol, what i wanted to say was congrats and stunning work, dear bud tom! :)
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/23/2025 11:02:00 AM
Very sweet thank you
Date: 2/22/2025 3:28:00 PM
Congrats on your win and also POTD. Wow
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/22/2025 5:44:00 PM
Double banger. Thx
Date: 2/22/2025 10:16:00 AM
The first POTW I've read every day. Thanks!
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/22/2025 10:24:00 AM
Huge compliment Ben :)
Date: 2/22/2025 9:37:00 AM
Dear Tom, your poetic pen is potent and pierces the heart like a flaming arrow. This was a crucial moment in the poem for me "The cries, the screams of others sifting through the debris make me question my sanity did my hearing return or are the screams in my head?" - it made what comes after all the more painfully poignant.. and your haiku is the perfect punctuation for the the profound ache and unbearable loss expressed in your your prose. Love your take on the theme. Double congrats for your win in Ink's contest and for POTW honors. Well deserved my poet friend. Warmest wishes.. ~Susan
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/22/2025 9:49:00 AM
Yes the mind can play tricks on us when under extreme duress, sometimes to our benefit, sometimes not. Thx for the praise
Date: 2/22/2025 12:42:00 AM
Congrats on POTW Tommy. My thoughts about your: powerful evocative haibun: the loss of these serene and most beautiful stalwarts of nature serve to juxtapose the fragility of life with the horrors of man's inhumanity to man and total destruction we are capable of. The fireflies represent stability and balance in life and serve too, I think, as a device to accentuate the poignant themes of loss, hopelessness, hope, belief and the tragedy of war. I think with the haibun you have found that balance that showcases your writing skills off to the max. Cheers - Gary
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/22/2025 5:12:00 AM
Very encouraging review. Thx Gary
Date: 2/21/2025 11:32:00 AM
WOW!!! Back again with Congratulations on another win on this wonderful write. What A Great Write/Story..... Have a fun/blessed weekend as you write away..................
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/21/2025 12:43:00 PM
:) :)
Date: 2/21/2025 10:50:00 AM
So moving are your words. I shall fave this poem.
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/21/2025 12:43:00 PM
Very cool thx
Date: 2/21/2025 9:42:00 AM
Dear Tom , the humanity suffers systematically form the wars. No more wars. no more bloodshed. Our hope is to bloom peace everywhere.. Heartfelt congratulations on your top win!
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/21/2025 9:47:00 AM
That's my hope to Mulu. Thx
Date: 2/21/2025 8:04:00 AM
Tom, your incredibly vivid and moving story is frighteningly beautiful in its pathos! Your tru talent shines and is on full display. I could only aspire to be able to write like this!
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/21/2025 9:48:00 AM
A nice compliment. Thx so much Mike
Date: 2/21/2025 5:39:00 AM
Such a great haibun, Tom. I'm faving. Heartiest congratulations on your top win!
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/21/2025 5:53:00 AM
Glad you found it of value. Much appreciated
Date: 2/21/2025 3:14:00 AM
This haibun is so powerful and so moving and only few can picture themselves in such tragic and chaotic situations and deliver something like this that would leave readers feeling how war and such situations are like. Unfortunately no one wins in war, and its sad to see so many innocent lives affected, altho some tend to see things from only one side! Nobody deserves to go through that! I love the haiku at the end. This is powerful and different! And one that would leave a long lasting impression . I hope to see a world that would be kinder and not racist! One that spreads empathy for everyone and not just one specific religion. We are all human! We all deserve peace and happiness in this world! If not for happiness atleast contentment! This is also a fave for me! Thank you for supporting my contest! Congratulations on your top win!
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/21/2025 5:54:00 AM
I don't get inspired often but I got a germ of an idea for this theme and just went with it. Glad it moved you
Date: 2/20/2025 12:36:00 PM
Tom, this sad, touching poem is expertly written. I love your haibuns, which you do so well. Best wishes.
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/20/2025 12:52:00 PM
My fave form. Thx Evelyn
Date: 2/20/2025 10:57:00 AM
This makes me feel many things, including dread and death. Conflicts, rebellions, battles... Nobody deserves to go through this. It afflicts the mind and creates an indelible imprint. Wonderfully crafted, Tommy.
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/20/2025 11:40:00 AM
Glad you stopped by
Date: 2/19/2025 10:07:00 AM
Ecce homo, Poet of the Week!! Explosive piece to ponder and digest. Even in fantasy is a devastating loss. Powerful. =;o/
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/19/2025 10:22:00 AM
Thx arlo
Date: 2/18/2025 8:25:00 PM
When we are suffering we remember and love those good days which which more or less happens to us time and again.The poem very well depicts tragedy caused by war.
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/19/2025 5:33:00 AM
Yessir and thx
Date: 2/18/2025 7:34:00 PM
I think we are all weeping. No surprise seeing you here, though any of your poems Woody qualify. Thanks for being here.
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/19/2025 5:32:00 AM
Much thx Ben
Date: 2/18/2025 4:39:00 PM
Tom, I admire your ability to combine prose with poetry (especially the Haiku) in such an emotional and evocative work of creativity. Kudos my friend /// Terrell
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/18/2025 6:03:00 PM
Much thx Terrell
Date: 2/18/2025 2:21:00 PM
Tom, you are a hero to humanize the experience of many innocents who have had their lives destroyed. The images you created paint a view of horror and suffering that no one deserves. Just reading work like this could give me PTSD as it seems so real. I always wince when the media covers war and blurs the scenes of the wounded and dead. What reality are they protecting us from? How many war criminals are leading us and how can mass executions continue--only a minority has begun to react in the US and globally, though some have called the aerial bombing in the territory we've said we will take over as a genocide. It all works when we look at people as not human or not equivalent in some way.
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/18/2025 2:48:00 PM
No hero for sure. Just a voice. Thx for support
Date: 2/18/2025 8:30:00 AM
All war ever succeeded in was breeding intense hatred, the burning agony of the innocent dead, where justice is merely a word not executed, having lived during troubles in my own land some soul's never find peace, your pen highlights this beautifully
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/18/2025 8:33:00 AM
Having read many of your poems I see why it might resonate. Thx for stopping by
Date: 2/18/2025 7:04:00 AM
Ahh!! I enjoyed this Haibun. It was a captivating story and Haiku. Thanks for sharing your talent with us. Sara K
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Tom Woody
Date: 2/18/2025 7:56:00 AM
Your welcome and thank you!
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Book: Reflection on the Important Things