Never quit. Don’t give up the ship
Remember the Alamo
Go down fighting with Tex and Pedro
No throwing in the towel
No waving the flag of surrender
Duke it out. Don’t be a ‘fence-mender’
Win every battle.
Dominate the war
That’s what they pay generals for
Don’t give in to doubt
The enemy is yours to rout
That’s what life’s all about…
Until the first time you’re defeated
And your precious blood is depleted
Got it now? ~ WAR is an expletive deleted
We mortals are known for waging good
And gallant fights to ward off some of
The fury of mother nature. We often
Succeed in fighting, defending, and
Minimizing her calamitous effects,
But we can never wip Mother Nature.
I once lived in an area that fogged
Heavily certain times of the year,
Especially late nights and early
Mornings. The heavy fog sometimes
Caused much damage and loss of
Life in anto accidents.
Some motorists equipped their vehicles
With fog lights to aid in their visibility.
Unfortunately, the company vehicle
I drove did not have fog lights.
When driving was required under such
Conditions, I often sought the tail lights
Of big rig trucks. Their big red tail lights
Would usher me safely through the fog.
This war-time combatant
Common soldier
Patriot, and loyal
Of Hell I call.
Servant of a leader
Slave to a god
His highness, Abaddon.
Hence destruction.
I fight hard
To defy slumber’s grasp,
Head tilting, nodding
Between wakefulness and sleep.
My focus hangs in the balance,
For it is the hour of devotion.
Tonight,
I dare not yield to the body's whim;
Kneeling, I begin the Lord’s prayer,
But the words stumble.
Yet I regain my track—
Resolute, I must persevere.
Swiftly, I reach for my Bible,
Turning to the Psalms:
"He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep."
The verse echoes in my mind;
I cannot surrender now.
But this gentle breeze, soft and cool,
Fans the embers of my fatigue.
My eyelids grow heavy,
My knees begin to buckle;
Slowly, my head lowers,
Resting upon the Holy Book.
Angels ascend and descend
Upon Jacob’s ladder,
Cherubim and Seraphim
In celestial minstrelsy.
Heaven’s peace envelops me,
And I begin to snore heavily.
Till dawn filters through the blinds,
Sun rays pierce into my eyes
I awaken, still kneeling by the bed—
Still praying to the Lord
Thunderous silence
echoes in my scolded ears
heavy lies the mood
Winner 5th place: X&Y by Seth Pina (3/29/26)
Fighting fire with gasoline
Splitting towns to rubble bits
Heroes keep doing their thing
In full knowledge it’s not worth it
Living only by submission
For the money they can’t spend
Dying by warlords decisions
This I fail to understand
Hostages of mortal hate
They’ve no peace in their souls
Bet they can’t negotiate
Yet they do perform their roles
Whom do they deceive, I wonder
Why this utter shame we see?
Does humanity go under
Back to tribal pedigree?
Love, no one will carve our names
No pillar stands for the unwise
We’re not joining the insane
Nation-minded, country-sized
It’s absurd to fight and fuss
No excuse sounds good enough
Cursed or hallowed, they’re not us
Either we’re not them, my love.
May we be blessed as humans all across the world…
to stop fighting with our human sisters and brothers…
and put our collective talents and love together
In helping one another….
Imagine all the good we could do
Imagine our success…
If we all put our collective energies into fighting diseases
Like Alzheimers, Cancer and ALS.
If we as a human race..
helped protect our environment…our animals, our children
If we together fought climate change and poverty…
If we made sure every child could read
and made it our mission that everyone in the world…was free.
If we made a world-wide effort
To ensure hatred, prejudice and war would cease…
If all humans gathered together…
to create a world of everlasting peace.
I'm not proud to say I've done drugs I've drank.
I'm not proud to say I was happy doing them.
every time I was high it was an escape from what I should have been facing.
I got drunk just cause I knew people who drank.
I'm tired of trying to fit in with everyone.
sure i may be weird in my own way.
people tell me i have good looks.
and my looks is what gets me places but I'm tired of people only seeing my looks.
i want them to see me for me past the smile past the fake smile's past it all.
I'm not proud of the things iv done and now that im graduating in may it scares me
it scares me that i have no clue what im doing with my life
i don't have a job and soon I won't have anything to communicate with people.
I'm scared of everything.
I wanted this year to go well for me but how can it go well when i don't know what iI'm doing.
I have offers to college but no money to go.
I'm scared that I'm always going to be traped in this house that I want to escape.
Fighting to live but a part of me dies
Like a fading star swallowed by its own skies
My mind is a battlefield paved with doubt
Silent explosions I can’t talk about
Too hollow to cry too heavy to stand
Grief sits on my chest like sinking sand
I sift through the world for fragments of light
But shadows cling tight to the edges of night
Reaching for purpose with trembling hands
Yet sinking deeper in quicksilver sands
Moving through days like a ghost in my home
Surrounded by people yet aching alone
My thoughts wage wars behind locked doors
Tidal waves crashing on fragile shores
Memories become monsters that tear at my seams
Turning the daylight dim in my dreams
I’m begging the heavens for even a spark
A lantern to guide me out of the dark
A whisper that someday the storm will subside
That I’m more than the ache I carry inside
Trying to climb from this sunless well
Where echoes of doubt rise and swell
Painting on smiles that never quite fit
Hiding the pieces that quietly split
I keep waiting for dawn to break through the gray
For a sign that I’m meant to remain one more day
Hoping the light I can’t yet see
Is still out there searching for me
Some sorrows are blessings tears can not cease;
Grieving legs to be fearless for life's peace...
Journey daringly undone,
To fall and rise yet from none-
Handling impulse sorrowful stakes increase.
The fall of the castles, the siege on the Lords,
The day that the enemy’s melodies soared.
A victory waited ‘till the voices were lent.
Notes beat knives, songs beat the kingdom to its end.
The peasants smiled, but they wished to weep.
They could sow but they could never reap.
The bards saw the pain on their calloused hands,
And decided they deserved to take over the lands.
Thousands of drums began the war.
Violins made rumbles in the core.
The vocals struck the ears with their calls.
The trumpets meant there’s triumph after all.
The fall of the castles, the dawn of an era,
The power of rhythm, the Lords were in terror.
The trials with notation and the style of song,
Caused people to live the way they should’ve all along.
Fighting falsehood with mere truth is
a losing proposition
The public clamors for the popular position
The underdog has it all his way today
yelling that America is evil paves the way
no matter that it’s pure, unadulterated fiction
Soon all law-abiding folks will be imprisoned
as anarchy realizes its wildest ambitions
Disposable.
Just like the bodies scattered
As unimportant as the soldiers blood splattered
A black man stands watching violence unfold
Not to the enemy
But those who fought close
Those your supposed to trust
Comrades
Yet somehow
The black man
Is on the receiving side of the bullets
Not by the opposition
But by those claiming to be on the same team
With words that sting
He fought for his country
And as a reward
He is erased by history
He became an unknown soldier
Whitewashed because of colour
Seen as another sacrifice 'for the greater good'
Yet deprived of herohood
A man who once had a name
Now demoted to a nameless face
The question is will we ever know
The story of this unsung hero
Will his name forever be buried in the trenches of history
Hidden beneath the blood Soaked sludge
Drowned out by the white man's scream
Forever silenced by the songs of white history
Now an invisible grave of black memory
Under appreciated by a system so weak
It used black strength as a weapon and shield
the dragon conquered both armies, annihilating them with fire
soldiers screamed as he incinerated both sides, their lines breeched.
shields did not help them, and swords would not pierce his armor.
soldiers were helpless, falling down as the dragon screeched in the mire.
two witnesses lived to tell the tale, ten thousand and one dead.
though on opposite sides during the war, they became fast friends.
the dragon claimed yonder castle as his own and promptly went to bed.
two new friends ran home to tell the tale, without exaggeration bends.
spirits that floated out of the war that day went to various places of course.
patience had to be with the solider spirits who arrived at heaven's gate
leaders went the same way, and realized they were both thick and Norse.
why were we fighting? They asked each other. Why the hate?
the dragon felt smug as he watched these antics in his crystal ball.
he wanted marauders, soldiers, and armies to see their demise, their fall.
we are all put on earth to learn to love each other, after all.
he demanded dragon soup and stayed with this staff until the fall.
Worth a Fight.
It is no longer about right or wrong. it is about taking a stand
Against those who came to this country
to escape poverty and tyranny, and now want to end democracy
The unwritten consensus among people of different classes.
We have become soft liberal, Christianity, you said?
Don’t make me laugh; we are far too Self-assured
to believe in God.
And we are giving way while their imams egg the people
on and not for a moment do they stop
No, not for a sneeze of hesitation do they think that
if they went back to their forefathers’ country
A whip would await them in dank cells.
Their faith has good points. No, it has not.
But they have the right to return to their cherished land
and practice a faith that is still in the Middle Ages.
Soft liberal, giving way for the sake of peace
a peace I will not accept, and I will fill bullets in the chambers of my revolver to defend what my people fought for, is called democracy, shaky, yes, with many flaws
But is a system worth fighting for
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