Retaliation
When distant trumpets blow, sounding retreat
And all directions, pointed back to base
Despair waits, as the foe of greater threat
Such that only victory, would erase
The unhealed wounds and scars, that all bewailed
Add bitterness to misery and grief
Yet may behoove to change, the scheme that failed
Boding better times, but suffering, brief
The mound of dead piled up under the grass
Where limping comrades plant the tattered flag
Stands tribute, cast in bones instead of brass
But the action in which braves, should first log
.....Is find the strength to fight those doubts again
.....Always arrayed for battle in the brain.
poem by Reyvrex Questor Reyes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Soldier
The soldier, he has many battle scars.
But there's only a few, others can see.
The wounds, they did not kill him,
They made him who he was called to be.
Although some of his battles were easy,
Through each of his battles he died.
The pieces, which were his true enemy.
Were the pieces that did not survive.
When the soldier, he goes into battle,
He must know who his enemies are.
They are the ones that would harm another,
And make the soldier, seem like he, was the star.
It is only once you discover the enemy,
The march to victory, then can begin.
For the war that the soldier is fighting.
Is the battle he fights from within.
In each of us there is a soldier.
And each day, we fight the good fight.
For the ones who walk into victory,
Are the ones who find their true light.
poem by Ryan Lee Morris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Princess: A Medley: Thy Voice is Heard
Thy voice is heard thro' rolling drums,
That beat to battle where he stands;
Thy face across his fancy comes,
And gives the battle to his hands:
A moment, while the trumpets blow,
He sees his brood about thy knee;
The next, like fire he meets the foe,
And strikes him dead for thine and thee.
poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
War at Home
Ever since they took him away,
to fight that God forsaken war.
I daydream in our fields all day.
They took the man that I adore.
Gazing across the windswept grass
and waiting for the time to pass.
The memory of times before,
they took the man that I adore.
I know he’ll walk across that field
with battle wounds yet still unhealed.
My broken heart can take no more,
they took the man that I adore.
Ever since they took him away,
they took the man that I adore.
Author Notes:
Kyrielle Sonnet
A Kyrielle Sonnet consists of 14 lines (three rhyming quatrain stanzas and a non-rhyming couplet) . Just like the traditional Kyrielle poem, the Kyrielle Sonnet also has a repeating line or phrase as a refrain (usually appearing as the last line of each stanza) . Each line within the Kyrielle Sonnet consists of only eight syllables. French poetry forms have a tendency to link back to the beginning of the poem, so common practice is to use the first and last line of the first quatrain as the ending couplet. This would also re-enforce the refrain within the poem. Therefore, a good rhyming scheme
for a Kyrielle Sonnet would be: AabB, ccbB, ddbB, AB -or- AbaB, cbcB, dbdB, AB.
poem by Amera Andersen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sorry Love
Sorry love
if I ever came on too strong
all the suffering I caused
the things I said or did wrong
those times I failed to speak
the should'ves could'ves would'ves
the callouses the scars the wounds
times of bitterness harshness and cruelty
sorry love for often trying to shape you
into my own image time spent trying to make
you into something you're not
the times I took your very presence for granted
sorry love the hours of hurt
the loneliness and the longing
sorry love for the lies and broken promises
cold shoulders and shattered dreams
sorry love for the suffering children
the one sided nature of youthful behavior
the calculated greed and pains of labor
Now as the sun slowly begins to rise
nothing but you and I love
together let us share what's
left of the moon light
in the morning hours
nothing better to do
than write poetry and await
the day's weather with you
to end my touching speech
this lovers honest heartfelt plea
i ask of love
please be kind to all creation
everything rosy
each second holy
all is calm in this
great bubble dubbed space
poem by Gregory Allen Uhan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Battling of a Nation
The inevitable battle strikes the awesome nation,
We call this town a nation of strength, the battle.
Itself the battle climbs, to put on an action of wounds,
The unavoidable victory is theirs, the defeat even theirs.
The battling may become a studied nation,
The work of bright light, a final lunch and an act of carnage
That belittles us if we were a nation of strong acts.
The battle shall learn more from the defeated,
The vanquished are celebrating an ion and atom,
The defeated are celebrating an awesome molecule.
poem by Naveed Akram
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Never Sound Retreat
A hard fought battle you have won
This graduation day;
We fill with pride to know you still
Stand steadfast on the way.
We know you often lost your poise
And longed to sound retreat,
Until some inner strength took charge
And saved you from defeat.
Life's many battles yet to come
May test you to the core;
For every one you lose, there will
Be victories in store.
Stand firm for what you know is right,
Believe you can't be beat;
If doubts prevail then search for help,
But never sound retreat.
Just persevere and strive to step
In cadence with life's beat;
With fear and fight and faith, my son,
You'll never sound retreat-
You'll never sound retreat.
My eldest son struggled all through
high school and was now facing a stint
in the military, during the Vietnam War
1968
poem by Joseph Anderson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
What Happens When I Go...
so many times will i watch this
there is no way that i can stop watching this
show of a
beautiful body
when i was about to go, i feel the loss
and the grief is like rain at night
there is no ceasing
of the sounding and pounding of the
pain
i have hesitations of course
i am not the familiar kind that goes into
the house of
the mundane
must i bury myself in the terse tension
under my bed?
i cannot betray what myself has been praying
for
to be free for a while and make the most
of what time is left
and so i go
into the familiar places of the heart
meeting everyone
nurturing the wounds and trying to
erase the scars
when i arrive there i feel the shrinking of
my body
my hands are touching my feet
the door when it closes suddenly becomes
a very tall man
i am looking up
to that artificial light
i am lost again
and defeated
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
There She Stands
When the night
Seems to say
All hope is lost
Gone away
But I know
I'm not alone
By the light
She stands
There she waves
Faithful friend
Shimmering stars
Westward wind
Show the way
Carry me
To the place
She stands
Just when you think it might be over
Just when you think the fight is gone
Someone will risk his life to raise her
There she stands
There she flies
Clear blue skies
Reminds us with red
Of those that died
Washed in white
By the grave
In their strength
She stands
When evil calls itself a martyr
When all your hopes come crashing down
Someone will pull her from the rubble
There she stands
We've seen her flying torn and tattered
We've seen her stand the test of time
And through it all the fools have fallen
There she stands
By the dawn's
Early light
And through the fight
She stands
song performed by by Michael W. Smith
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
He Is Gone Forever
He smiles weakly at sunrise
because he hopes for a brighter day
that redemption will reign
the seed of misfortune, the produce of fate
stands in a lonely world.
He weeps without a care in the world
and he waits with no time to catch
His soul matches in a tunnel of darkness
ultimately, he meets His end...
and he is gone forever!
On his journey, he forgets his boots
On the battleground, he bares no weapon
In the darkness, the winds blow out his lantern
When the door is open, strength folds him away, away, away...
and now he is gone forever
He was a light never kindled
and a coldness froze him.
He was a hope that failed
and despair failed his sight
He was a soul that needed redemption
BUT, he is gone forever.
poem by Timothy muggaga
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
What do we plant when we plant a tree?
What do we get when we plant the tree?
We plant the ship which will cross the sea;
We plant the pencils to scribble our notes,
We plant the ballots to cast our votes;
We plant the paper in which we read,
The news that o'er wooden poles we speed,
We plant the piles to erect our docks;
We plant the rayon for shirts and socks.
What do we plant when we plant a tree?
We plant the houses for you and me;
We plant the rafters, the shingles, the floors,
We plant the studding, the lath, the doors,
The beams and siding, all the parts that be;
We plant the house when we plant the tree,
We plant the barrel, the box, the crate;
In which to ship all sorts of freight.
What do we plant when we plant a tree?
A thousand things that we daily see,
We plant the spire that out-towers the crag,
We plant the staff for our country's flag;
We plant the shade from the hot sun free,
We plant all these when we plant the tree.
poem by Henry Abbey
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
Vote! | Copy!
Dirge For A Soldier
In the east the morning comes,
Hear the rollin' of the drums
On the hill.
But the heart that beat as they beat
In the battle's raging day heat
Lieth still.
Unto him the night has come,
Though they roll the morning drum.
What is in the bugle's blast?
It is: 'Victory at last!
Now for rest.'
But, my comrades, come behold him,
Where our colors now enfold him,
And his breast
Bares no more to meet the blade,
But lies covered in the shade.
What a stir there is to-day!
They are laying him away
Where he fell.
There the flag goes draped before him;
Now they pile the grave sod o'er him
With a knell.
And he answers to his name
In the higher ranks of fame.
There's a woman left to mourn
For the child that she has borne
In travail.
But her heart beats high and higher,
With the patriot mother's fire,
At the tale.
She has borne and lost a son,
But her work and his are done.
Fling the flag out, let it wave;
They 're returning from the grave--
'Double quick!'
And the cymbals now are crashing,
Bright his comrades' eyes are flashing
From the thick
Battle-ranks which knew him brave,
No tears for a hero's grave.
In the east the morning comes,
Hear the rattle of the drums
Far away.
Now no time for grief's pursuing,
Other work is for the doing,
Here to-day.
He is sleeping, let him rest
With the flag across his breast.
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Fight Against The Tide
When the doubts you have begin to show
When the winds of change begin to blow your dream away
As the winter cold can touch the bone
And like a crowd, voices in your mind
But as the thunder dies, youre standing on your own
Even in your darkest night
When the shadows hide the guiding light that leads the way alone
And heaven seems to turn its head
Sometimes, to break away the ties
You have to find the strength to carry on
Fight against the tide
To cut the hardest stone
Fight against the tide
The blood begins to flow
Hold on, through the storm could take your life
Be strong and you will survive
You wont give in
Even though the walls around you fall
No dont give in
Still the flames alive
till the end of time
And so you fight against the tide
When the doubts you have begin to show
When the winds of change begin to blow your dream away
When the fire has left your soul
Look straight ahead
In the face of fear
Take on the world and all it has to give
Fight against the tide
To cut the hardest stone
Fight against the tide
The blood begins to flow
Hold on, through the storm could take your life
Be strong and you will survive
song performed by by Asia
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too?
Over There,
World War II.
Dear Fellow Americans,
I write this letter
Hoping times will be better
When this war
Is through.
I'm a Tan-skinned Yank
Driving a tank.
I ask, WILL V-DAY
BE ME-DAY, TOO?
I wear a U. S. uniform.
I've done the enemy much harm,
I've driven back
The Germans and the Japs,
From Burma to the Rhine.
On every battle line,
I've dropped defeat
Into the Fascists' laps.
I am a Negro American
Out to defend my land
Army, Navy, Air Corps--
I am there.
I take munitions through,
I fight--or stevedore, too.
I face death the same as you do
Everywhere.
I've seen my buddy lying
Where he fell.
I've watched him dying
I promised him that I would try
To make our land a land
Where his son could be a man--
And there'd be no Jim Crow birds
Left in our sky.
So this is what I want to know:
When we see Victory's glow,
Will you still let old Jim Crow
Hold me back?
When all those foreign folks who've waited--
Italians, Chinese, Danes--are liberated.
Will I still be ill-fated
Because I'm black?
Here in my own, my native land,
Will the Jim Crow laws still stand?
Will Dixie lynch me still
When I return?
Or will you comrades in arms
From the factories and the farms,
Have learned what this war
Was fought for us to learn?
When I take off my uniform,
Will I be safe from harm--
Or will you do me
As the Germans did the Jews?
When I've helped this world to save,
Shall I still be color's slave?
Or will Victory change
Your antiquated views?
You can't say I didn't fight
To smash the Fascists' might.
You can't say I wasn't with you
in each battle.
As a soldier, and a friend.
When this war comes to an end,
Will you herd me in a Jim Crow car
Like cattle?
Or will you stand up like a man
At home and take your stand
For Democracy?
That's all I ask of you.
When we lay the guns away
To celebrate
Our Victory Day
WILL V-DAY BE ME-DAY, TOO?
That's what I want to know.
Sincerely,
GI Joe.
poem by Langston Hughes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Rest on their Souls
Rest on those soldiers who fight a way called war,
Like them and loathe them as much as law,
But altogether celebrate the taste of battle
That is pungent on the mouth of the passer-by.
Rest on the lovers of unrest, of cauldron, of stupor,
On the lovely rest that requires our understanding,
A loan has been committed of strength and justice,
Of war and peace, and of law there is one.
Rest all days then and there for always those who die,
For their laughter is smaller when fresh with life,
They want to retreat into the wilderness.
They would love a little loneliness and misery.
Such is martyrdom to those who object,
On the last one warrior who fitted succulence
In his mouth with a chewing action -
The blame is on him, when he will be general.
poem by Naveed Akram
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Old Comrades Sept 9th,2012
OLD COMRADES Sept 9th,2012
By
James Bredin
Many of my old RCN comrades are now long dead,
Names in my memories or graveyard stones instead,
Mentioned at association meetings where memories are fading fast,
And I sometimes wonder, how much longer, will these good times last?
I'm sorry to even say this but soon enough I'll be dead,
I'd like to have Death With Dignity so that I can plan ahead,
It's not being dead that worries me - it's the painful dying part,
It's the suffering, the agony, the pain, the sorrow and falling apart.
It's the helplessness of having to obey our Supreme Court,
And what they did to Sue Rodriguez leaves me no comfort,
How do we change the legal system and what can we do?
I don't know about you but I don't even have a clue.
Sept 9th,2012
poem by James Bredin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Six-O-Clock News
He stands transfixed on a road to nowhere
Pregnant and traumatised she stares into empty space
His voice is one of complete despair we have nothing
Yesterday he dispensed drugs to the sick and suffering
Today on this road to nowhere he stands bewildered.
I sit in front of the screen sobbing with grief for them
For the rest of us who sit by and can do nothing
I have entered their grief and seen their powerlessness
Yet unlike my vocational calling, I can do nor say anything
I view as one like the ancient gods of Greece on Olympus
Detached and far away, yet I feel the pain and despair
They scream at me from their faces, their body language
So I sob and sob, wondering for whom do I feel so sad
For on both sides of the glass we are powerless
So the bombs still fall and people are left in despair.
poem by James Tipp
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Wars
honor of those who went
to war to fight for those
who they want to protect.
liberty of freedom, heroes
of our times,
the one who in arm we took
the ones who made us change
the on the battle field that took to protcet
kills and blood in the war
our brothers
and sister who fought in the war we
phrase you with glory and victory
perhap one day we will fight in war as well
they did for us.
poem by Andres Gonzalez
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Blooming Shame
Still fields of scarlet poppies blow
on long abandoned battle fields.
The bones of dead men hid below
will feed their roots increasing yields.
The few survivors are now all dead.
Rejoined the comrades that they knew.
So we remember in their stead.
The many who salute the few.
Now Patch is dead he was the last
veteran who survived the war
A living relic from the past
who lived a hundred years and more.
There�s no one left who can recall
the muddy trenches and the gas.
The pain of seeing comrades fall.
He watched the long years slowly pass.
He never sought publicity.
He was a very private man
but became a celebrity
The last surviving veteran.
Each year the scarlet poppies grow
On Flanders Fields abundantly
The countless dead who lie below
Have earned their place in history.
By foolish useless sacrifice
They gave their lives to end all war
I think they paid to high a price.
The world is as it was before.
Men are still killing other men
but now much more efficiently
Each year we fail to learn again
the lessons taught by history.
There are no winners in a war.
There never was nor will there be.
But men will fight for evermore.
It�s human nature seemingly.
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The unfinished battle
`1The unfinished battle
The strive is not over, if it is not over
It has no ending, not a definite end.
Alas! There is no finish to a war, war-
is not won by victory.this battle of a hero
the good fight of a great protagonist one-
in which no winner emerged.alas! the unaccomplished-
runners, those with women like heart, they are dead.
The great protagonist is not dying, not in this war.
The brave ones never died, they die thousands of times.
the war is a cruel thing sometimes a haven. the peasants,
don’t want it, while an inevitable to the warriors.those who
are lucky with their faith are here in their threshold down,
they are safer indeed in their stony sleep but, the reminants-
in this unfinished battle of ours make this war our war when-
no alternative we got alas! the battle is unfinished.
It has no ending, war is not won by victory.
poem by Ipaye Olawole Peter
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Don't You Want To Be There
Don't you want to be there, don't you want to go?
Where the light is breaking and the cold clear winds blow
Don't you want to be there in the golden glow
Don't you want to be there, don't you want to fly?
With your arms out, let a shout take you across the sky
Don't you want to be there when the time's gone by
Times there was love all around you
Times you were strong and alone
Times you believed love had found you
And you fell through time like a stone
And those you have wronged, you know
You need to let them know some way
And those who have wronged you, know
You'll have to let them go someday
Don't you want to be there?
Don't you want to cry when you see how far
You've got to go to be where forgiveness rules
Instead of where you are
Don't you want to be there, don't you want to know?
Where the grace and simple truth of childhood go
Don't you want to be there when the trumpets blow
Blow for those born into hunger
Blow for those lost 'neath the train
Blow for those choking in anger
Blow for those driven insane
And those you have wronged, you know
You need to let them know some way
And those who have wronged you, know
You'll have to let them go someday
Don't you want to be there?
Don't you want to see where the angels appear
Don't you want to be where there's strength and love
In the place of fear
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!