The Sunday Whirl presented these twelve words for us to use in a creative writing piece.
casualties phase profit drop folly cold hungry dawn complicit evil stream reckoning
Ambush
"An army marches on its stomach"
– Napoleon (attr.)
Battalions. Invaders.
Marching side by side.
Tramping through the night,
Into neighbouring lands,
Bringing a reckoning.
There will be casualties, of course,
How could there not be?
No military operation
Can be without them.
Which only magnifies the folly.
The strategy is to profit
From the maneuvers—
And so they march, side by side,
Streaming into new territory.
The residents are not complicit,
They are unwilling victims
In an unequal battle.
The invaders are greedy, not evil,
Just hungry for the spoils…
In the cold, crisp light
Of the breaking dawn
The lettuce seedlings
Will be no more.
◊
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” — Proverbs 6:6
ReplyDeleteThe sadness of the Lettuce seedlings no more really got to me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Colleen, I feel bad for the lettuce seedlings, lets grow things and stop killing!! Nice poem, my friend! 🧡
ReplyDeleteOh, you got me! Until the ending I was picturing some of the human conflicts around the planet at present.
ReplyDeleteNice twist at the poem's end. Me too was imagining the army on its mission to destroy the civilisation and not lettuce seeds.
ReplyDeleteA wry twist for your readers - I thought rabbits on a second read! Jae
ReplyDeleteA stark portrayal of current conflicts until the end
ReplyDeleteIndeed... going for the spoils is what drives the soldiers (even today).... the personal motivation is greed.
ReplyDeleteYour poem makes me wonder what was the real purpose of NATO trying to expand into Ukraine... and I'm sure others will see it the other way around too.
ReplyDeleteAt first I got into the deep thoughts about war and "casualties" and the purpose of that... then the poem twisted and took me to the seedlings and my growling stomach.
ReplyDeleteThe line "bringing a reckoning" is so thought-provoking. Imagine being a pawn for such a thing. Your poem is so pertinent for the current times.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great twist to the ending of your poem! Loved it.
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