War Grounds

by Poet on the Piano   Sep 13, 2012


The things they swept beneath their beds
were not dust, no, they weren't some kind
of dirty secret you'd tell yourself was
normal for everyone to want to hide.

The things they tucked between their stomachs
was not a craving, no, they weren't longing
for something to save until the day became
sweeter. It was nothing a tongue could taste
and call it opportunity.

The things they failed to say above ground
were barely substantial, no, for all they
ever said was swallowed by love that had been
trampled on.

The things they collapsed onto were not
a personification of death, no, for death
was more than 'la muerte' their grandmas
would warn them against. Everything turned
into sweat. Ambition became the end, only
conclusion choking on time's most suicidal
reality. The spirit of guilt is nothing they can rest on.
What they fall on is a darkness I can't even paint with
charcoal.

This isn't my life. I've never met "them".
But I can imagine them like extra limbs reaching
for lose-yourself kind of dazes.

They need to return home
.......clutch LIFE without fears.

And I don't know anything about anything.....

Written on September 13, 2012 at 6:56 pm
*'la muerte' means death.
*I wrote this inspired by Eminem's song "Lose Yourself".....I was reading comments about how it reminded people of war and it just spoke to me. It was so powerful. Thanks for reading.

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  • 12 years ago

    by Melpomene

    MaryAnne,

    What I'm most fond about in all of your poetry is the fact you're very versatile, you don't have a set technique or style and whenever I open up one of your poems I'm pleasantly surprised.

    I would have never of guessed you liked Eminem! I love that song and I like the way you took the song and ran with it. If I hadn't of read the note at the bottom I would have never of known, that's what inspiration is. Finding something and changing it completely to form something new!

    "no, for all they
    ever said was swallowed by love that had been
    trampled on."

    ^Something really beautiful in your tone here, I loved these lines. They were powerful and the idea of words being swallowed by love left a lot to ponder. Sometimes we swallow certain things out of love because we don't want to hurt someone.

    "I can imagine them like extra limbs reaching
    for lose-yourself kind of dazes."

    ^How powerful. I like the way you referred to limbs. Limbs in war are often troublesome, you always here of soldiers losing limbs and while you didn't link it in that way just the reference to them gave this image.

    Mel

  • 12 years ago

    by Britt

    " no, for death
    was more than 'la muerte' their grandmas
    would warn them against."

    Wow. This is really very powerful.

    "But I can imagine them like extra limbs reaching
    for lose-yourself kind of dazes."

    I love this as well, and it ties so closely into your inspiration. I didn't read your footnotes until the second time through the poem and I was really trying to figure out where your head was at lol, this took a different turn. You're such a versatile poet, it's so interesting to see the paths your mind can go down and write so effortlessly and effectively!