Shameful

Redux

On 2 July 1942, most of the children of Lidice, a small village in what was then Czechoslovakia, were handed over to the Łódź Gestapo office. 81 of the children were transported to the extermination camp at Chełmno 70 kilometers away. There they were gassed to death. This remarkable sculpture of 82 children by Marie Uchytilová commemorates those children attacked from Lidice who died. 

disgusting barbarians
bred from power
they were evil tyrants

sacrificing the innocent
the vulnerable
for personal gain

they chose cruelty
and still slept well
while all the rest suffered

how inhumane they were
how so many still are
shameful

Originally posted 4/17/2019 on I Write Her.

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Staved Off

Redux

Judith Selcuk

tragedy, angst, fear
escapism needed now
dreams save a kid’s life

Posted originally on I Write Her, 3/28/2019.

Universal Peace

solidarity
let us stand against the hate
choose amity now

Another piece from the past echoes my thoughts about our current world concerns.

Achieving Peace

harmonizing the extremes
by channeling in graceful solutions
the art of negotiation
in a world of bad discourse
it’s a delicate dance
of intelligence and compassion
few possess the skills necessary
yet may all leaders learn those
as our world desperately
requires them now

Presented with slight revision, posted originally on IWH 4/26/2018.

That Last Moment

the possible end
anxiety takes a toll
a forecast of doom

But Do We Listen

wild current affairs
past echoes to the future
imbued with wisdom

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

LAST KISSES DON’T LIE

soul kisses, it was there
vapored liquor breath
with resistance she succumbed
perceived as invitation
one-sided delight moved forth
deceived by yet another lie
another false try
while her ex-lover slept
she took the house key
cooked him waffles and bacon
sent him to work
never to see him again

TO FEAST

she harvested kisses
canned them in blue glass jars
placed them in the cellar
for a new season
she sat at the kitchen table
with thoughts of her day
wondered when she
would get a kiss again
it had been so long
a knock at the door
two uniformed men
she knew
no more kisses to harvest
she stepped down to the cellar
took a blue jar from the shelf
carried it upstairs
popped open the lid
kisses devoured her angst
she drifted into splendid sleep
dreamt of those sweet kisses
awoke to the scent
of the woolen blanket
issued army strong

DEATH STAYS

the C.O. was told
another soldier was gone
as she placed their name
on the death certificate
she woke up in tears, in fear

APPARITION

it was like an apparition
there were shadows
shades of willow greens, browns, golds
truly you would know
love is never buried
it unearths the ground
leaving not one as dead
but always safe and sound

~~~

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld is the founder and manager of Prolific Pulse Press LLC and a widely published poet and writer. She is the editor of numerous anthologies and is an editor for Fine Lines Journal. Tomey-Zonneveld has served as Poet Laureate of Garden of Neuro Institute and resides in North Carolina. She was first featured in 2020 and then again in 2022. Lisa was also one of the 2021 Pushcart Prize Nominees of The Short of It for her piece Silence. You can find all her features and reblogs HERE.

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Pat Alderman

Piece of Peace

With only a piece of peace
I have a  hole
that may never feel whole again.

Beware of War

Bombs falling
people crying
Bullets blazing
people dying
Why do our leaders
keep on lying?

Information Overload

Turn off your cellphone
Put on your trainers
Take a walk in nature
It should be a no-brainer.

If Not Now, When?

You think you have forever
until you don’t.
Then it’s too late.

The Other

If I’m not your Mother
or your Brother
you probably say I’m just the Other.
Overlooked, a voice just smothered.

Who’s the Animal Now?

Snarling, yanking
teeth showing
at either end of the leash.
Who is the animal now?

~~~

Pat is a retired federal librarian and creator of e-quipsblog. She is an aspiring poet who helped establish the Mountainlight Society of Poets Retreat in Crozet, VA. This is Pat’s first feature with The Short of It.

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Peace And War

Inspired by What do you see #262

beautiful stillness
the sun setting peacefully
sacred scenery

yet it also conjures up an opposite vision…

holy land warfare
blood of the innocent shed
spilled with savagery

Duane L Herrmann

Life Consequence

Our kindnesses that no one else knows of tell the true measure of ourselves. When no one else is looking, our true nature shines. So, what do you do when no one else will know? Do you rise to your most noble self? Or do you look out for number one? If the latter, you may have a later opportunity to improve; if not, you will carry that inability with you, a burden to drag you down. We never know what opportunities may await us to demonstrate our greatness. Failure is human; success – our best nature. We can try.

MEMORIES BE

Memories can change
be overlaid,
gain new meaning,
become
a friend they weren’t
before,
but effort,
progress,
must be made.

FINDING EARTH

We thought we
were going to the moon
but found the earth instead:
blue-white ball
suspended, alone, and single
in expanse of empty space:
one home
for one mankind,
we are one together.

ONE DOWN

Female sucks blood
eagerly,
hungrily,
for her children,
not looking
for her safety…

SPLAT!!!

One more
mosquito dead!

DINING IN

Sitting here
waiting for food
is what we do.
I’ve strung my lines,
food will come.
I’m energetic,
but now wait
for flyer
to be tangled.

LITTLE BODY

The body of a little boy,
just two years old,
washed up on shore,
his family fleeing
war and drought,
denied refuge.
What a relief,
ignorant sighed
thinking a terrorist dead.

~~~

Herrmann has published a sci-fi novel, nine poetry books, history, short stories, and more. He has carried kittens in his mouth, pet snakes, and conversed with owls, careful not to anger them! All despite a traumatic, abusive childhood, dyslexia, ADHD, cyclothymia, a form of Mutism, anxiety disorder, and PTSD. Herrman was first featured in 2020 and then again in 2022. This is his second feature this year. You can find all his work published on The Short of It HERE.

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Let Women Lead

Image creator unknown

Inspired by Reena’s Xploration Challenge #335
& Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Hope for

there may be hope for us yet
as long as the man-babies
stop playing with their war toys