Wendy Watson Poet Free verse

Wall of Shame

The astral plane above knew no division of east and west,
No barbed-wire border pierced its vast expanse.
The sentry reverted his gaze swiftly back to base,
His visage firmly fixed in the dark shadows of duty.
No stellar show would dampen his resolve this night.

Binoculars raised, pernicious pistol ready 
He scanned the ghostly death strip ahead .
Hostility hovered, lying in wait for a fool’s enterprise;
A daring dash for future promise.

In the distance, dogs started yelping
Searchlights scoured the pounding no-man’s land;
that bloodied blemish on freedom’s smooth pathway.
Tonight, no soul would traverse the treacherous terrain
For the stars shone too brightly up above.

02.11.20
Eight Word Challenge 11 Poetry Contest Sponsored by John Hamilton 

COMPULSORY WORDS: : 1. DAMPEN, 2. BLEMISH 3. PERNICIOUS. 4. TRAVERSE 
5. SENTRY  6. VISAGE  7. ASTRAL  8. ENTERPRISE

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Sara Kendrick March 5, 2022 at 4:09 AM Your winner in Brian's contest was creative and expressive. Way to go. Congrats. Sara

Christuraj Alex July 2, 2021 at 8:02 AM Beautiful suspense. Congratulations!

John Hamilton November 13, 2020 at 5:46 PM This is really well done, truly suspenseful congrats Wendy on a nice win! Wendy Watson January 7, 2021 at 2:17 AM Thank you so much for the appreciation and placement, John.

John Watt November 9, 2020 at 10:14 PM This really puts the cold in Cold War, Wendy! What an excellent free verse entry for the 8-word challenge. When I saw your title I immediately envisioned the Berlin Wall, such an iconic symbol of the era I grew up in. You captured that sense of freedom deprivation with your barb wires, yelping dogs, searchlights, and pernicious pistols. Well done and best wishes for a win ~ John John Watt November 10, 2020 at 5:59 PM No, never got to visit the continent, though I spent 6 wonderful months on your island back in 1990 (in Scotland) with my work. Sorry to hear about your table mystery. I'm sure things will right themselves soon. I've enjoyed seeing your many wins of late. Wendy Watson November 10, 2020 at 8:55 AM Hello John Have you visited Berlin? Our trip there when our daughter was studying German during her degree was amazing but it gave me a shiver to see the remnants of the wall and even the look-out tower. Thanks for your best wishes for the contest though intriguingly despite quite a few wins in the last couple of weeks, I've mysteriously gone down the league table rather than up!