I’ve tried to wrap my arms around the drivel
that any war might be deemed ‘civil’
~ the only term that comes to mind is evil
What does it mean to you?
When your own sasafr *ss is on the line,
the hope you had diminishes.
A Proud Boy is in your face
& has the final authority
A bad son shall end the likes of you.
With immunity he sheds blood
Crimson tidal waves of civil upheavals — never forget,
today's puff, may be your last cigarette.
An alien to you, to me you were sanctuary,
a perishing human am I, violently
I belonged, just like anyone.
In the hush between the charge and drift,
The world holds breath, suspended in a gift.
North and south exchange a fleeting glance,
Shadows and light halt their ancient dance.
Current pauses, silence on the wire,
Magnetism dreams of what might transpire.
Tension dissolves, the duality wanes,
Yin and yang rest from their endless chains.
In this moment, borders gently blur,
Opposites softened, no rush to recur.
The pulse of change, a silent refrain—
Polarity paused, peace here remains.
Raucous battles between them and us;
Finality reins but life is never the same.
Pause of Polarity Interchange Poetry Contest
1/17/2026
Sponsored by: Unseeking Seeker
The final resting place arrests the soul that's stirred to ponder
Unlikely calm, untimely psalm shall with these spirits wander
Now your tomb no more the gloom of morrow's peril pending
The will you brought, the peace you sought herein has found it's ending
I cannot summon up the scale, the cry, the wail, of this sad tale
Where you in desperation drew that final fatal vision
Sunshine graces all that my eye falls on in this vale
I search for hope that we won't follow on the sad division
That led us to the precipice where looking down on others
Would lead us to the place where we would choose to fight our brothers
Hope has many colors, complications, aspirations, and rebirth
But let us hope... lest it should die... along with our self-worth
(“Enemy of the State Merit Badge”, 2011, original oil)
In The Morning
In the morning the house smells
Of the sandalwood scented candle
I burned all night
In honor of a slain patriot.
I wake heart still heavy
And it just gets heavier
When the news keeps coming in
Of how much his enemies despised him
And how they gleefully celebrate now.
It’s odd to think of sane people celebrating
The murder of a kind and just and righteous,
And may I say, pure soul.
It just goes to show where their hearts are
And where they are not.
Morning dawns on a new day
As hundreds of millions of Americans wake up
To what is now an openly declared war
Between good and evil, liberty and tyranny.
And somehow it feels like 1775
All over again.
(9/11/25)
We can’t escape it, don’t know what to do.
People at each other, guess it’s overdue.
Yeah, we’ve read about it.
Is it here? I doubt it,
but I’m here to tell ya that it all is true.
Cuz the world’s falling fast into decay.
Makes me wanna stand up, shout to say -
I don’t really know man!
Where we gonna go man?
We can’t keep going on and on this way.
They make us think there is a choice to make.
They control both sides, why won’t we awake?
Why we wanna to play it’s
such a stupid game it
has us on a path to the same mistake.
Cuz ya know it’s all been done before.
Every empire’s been brought to the floor.
Why we never learn man?
Getting played each time and
every time the scale and the cost is more.
So, now it’s time for the final scene.
Every story ends if you know what I mean.
Nothing’s gonna stop it.
Everyone is lost with
no way to escape cuz… we’ve all joined a team.
Ether: 13: 20-21
Leaves flap in the breeze
From the tops of the trees
’Round the battlefield that
Rests just below.
Hand to hand
Sun to sun
We pass on the notion
That civility in war has never been done.
Brothers in arms,
Brothers in harm.
Slaves to graves,
Anger in waves.
People in chains,
Brandishing pains.
Blue versus Gray,
As families pray.
Hand in hand
Gun to gun
We retain the notion
That civility in war has never been done.
Blue takes Gray
North wins the day
Gun is aimed
A President claimed.
“Death to tyrants”
Words of violence
A man of flaws
Brought down by law.
Man to man
Son to son
We re-teach the notion
That civility in war has never been done.
A nation cry
A last train ride
Put out the fires.
Rebuild the spires.
What God hath blessed
Man has messed
Men finally freed
Lessons learned, time to heed.
Flags fly in the breeze
Surrounded by trees
With a thousand
White crosses below.
Man to man
One by one
May we learn the lesson,
That no war has ever, truly, been won.
A coat was laid upon the shoulders
potential threats firmly at bay
arms that held the precious mould are
protecting those who chose to pray
a bridge to cross a sea of secrets
as towers leaned towards their fate
cross the heart and aim to keep it
and swallow what will fill the space
a canopy arched over wisdom
confidence came in its wake
another bound to seek a kingdom
let tragedy come and dictate
supported by the staunch and loyal
rallied a champion whose colours bled
a sacrifice made for the soil
the consequence cost him his head.
Hamlet, sharpen your sword of trust, for Macbeth is surely waiting.
The specter of ‘Civil war’ stalks the land and the ghosts of senseless violence, so long docile, have come to hollow-eyed attention.
Our cauldron was filled with innocence, as the ever-thirsty succubi require, the glory of war is being shaken, not stirred and the betrayal will be served as quick and cold as steel.
#chefskiss
Yes, a polite war would be acceptable.
A respectful carnage, much more civilized.
A war to remember as genteel, noble,
and well played.
One officer to another:
"I say old chap can you move your men
a bit to the left over there,
so as we may shoot them more cleanly?"
"Anything to oblige sir,
we can't have the wounded littering the battlefield
creating any unnecessary fuss,
or indeed,
leave the broken corpses just anywhere -
there must be order."
That's how it should be,
neatly bloody,
and then folded away in a history book
far from the cannons roar.
Dancing to a Dixieland band, I think of General Lee
And General Sherman who led a march to the sea.
I am glad that I did not live in the south back in the day.
I cannot imagine how fast my sad feet could not run away.
...Though in closing, it must be said
they did not remain there for long.
A damned Yankee wed to a Reb?
The locals all declared it wrong.
Like many others they went west,
and made Colorado there home,
the family lives there to his day,
‘Abner’ a family name well-known.
…and ‘April’ too.
We have not been this divided since the Civil War
I am not speaking of the country
I am talking about my relatives.
The ones they love
I despise.
The ones they revere
I see as misogynist, egotistical and bullying.
We can eat meals together
As long as there is only small talk.
If anyone brings up politics it is over.
People leave angry.
We have never had this in our family before.
Civil War pitted neighbors against neighbors, brothers against brothers.
Lincoln would have most assuredly avoided it if he had his druthers.
He knew it was a horrible thing, and it divided the nation almost in two.
It was not his idea, but as the Union leader, what could he do?
He had the best generals who would quickly fill the nation’s need,
War needed to be over quickly; he hoped in this they would succeed.
Lincoln understood death, he had lost so many in his own family.
Knew taste of grief, and hoped the war would not last long, incredibly.
No delight in his step when the South surrendered, it was a sad day.
Many neighbors and friends had been sacrificed in such a horrible way.
Lincoln was an honest man, he knew the work was just beginning.
He was not gloating or bragging about any sort of Union winning.
I saw a thousand guns
Numbered like the sand of the seashore
Bowing down slowly
To the half of a yellow sun
Staring at them with gestures
That spoke silent words of praise
In an unbelievable future of hope!
(Book 2)
The sunrise spoke to the confederation,
The sunset seemed to sleep in peace
Within the heart of a few future Jews
Who told tales and fables of segmented past
With presentable memories of shredded battlegrounds
To new semen’s slowly turning into men
And begged of them to transfer
This vehicle of priceless messages
To their future kind!
(Book 3)
Tankers of war labeled yellow and black
Painted pictures of a fate fair and dark,
Carried labels of a suspected authoritarianism;
Painted portraits of an undeniable militarianism!
Tankers of war labeled yellow and black
Painted pictures of a race in peace or part,
Carried labels of a suspected treason
Believed to be pinpointed by the south-south region!
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