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Irakli Beria Dec 2023
Three days ago
my brother returned
from Afghanistan...
And during these three days,
when I was going home,
brother was not there
and when brother was becoming,
I was not...
On the third day, I went out
and kept thinking about the military uniform
hanging on the chair,
which has traces of desert,
which has my brother's name...
I got a call from home in the evening...
A familiar voice was heard on the phone.
"Where are you, Irakli?"
I'm tongue-in-cheek,
quickly went home
and all along the way
I had so many questions to ask him.
I imagined a standing ovation
I imagined a picture of our loud meeting,
but when I entered the door, I was frozen
because I met the sleepless and battle eyes...
We stood for three seconds
and after three seconds
we hugged each other
without saying a word...
nick armbrister Nov 2021
Dot To Dot
Join the dots all in a line
Where do they all lead?
Afghanistan
Land of failed empires
Defeated armies
***** production
Terrorism central
Forget Lebanon
Afghan is number one
Ever since the 70s
The Soviets started it
All the rest added to it
You know the nations
Shall we bet who’s next?
from LIZARD SNAIL 124K
Nick Armbrister and other writers
Ellis Reyes Sep 2021
Blinding flash
Eardrums burst
Blood, so much blood
Is it mine?
My eyes!
MEDIC!!

Snipping ripping
Scissors and hands tear away at my clothes
Water or something splashes
Burning everywhere
The smell...
**** and fire and burned meat
Is this what death smells like?
MOM!!!

Floating
No carried
On a litter
Now flying
UH-60
****!
Something jabbed...
Floating
Floating

Far away
Voices
Beeping
Crying
Screaming
Begging
Mom?

Closer
Voices
­Beeping
Wheels rolling
Machine sounds
Words
Mom...

Here, Now
Bright lights
Searing pain
Masked faces
Muffled voices
IV bags
Machine sounds
Mom
Questions
No answers

Where's my leg?
Daivik Aug 2021
It's painful
A person becoming a statistic
082121

O giliw at ginintuan kong bayan,
Sa mga galamay ng may burdang hinagpis
Ay ‘di patitinag ang katapatan kong sayo’y itinatangis
Panaghoy ko’y ‘wag sanang lisanin
Ang pangako nating hanggang sa dulo’y mananatili.

Hindi man sa ngayon
Ang paggawad ng medalyang kailanma’y hindi mangangalawang,
Ako’y magtitiis sa muling paglipad
Ng kalapating pilit na itinatali’t ikinakahon
Sa mga islang tanging anino na lamang ang kasarinlan.

Kung mamarapatin lang ng may Likha
Na ako’y tupukin na lamang ng apoy na hindi nakasusunog
At ako’y ayain sa hardin nang walang kamalayan
Kundi pagpuri sa Kanyang kagandahan.
Ngunit kailanma’y hindi ako mangingimasok
Sa kung anumang inilatag sa aking harapan.

Gustong lumuha ng dugo
Ng aking mga matang may iisang tinitingnan.
Sa mga kamay Niya’y
Hahayaan ko na lamang na dumungis ang mga butil
At ang Kanyang pagkalinga’y
Magsilbing panlaman-tiyan.

Kung makararating man sa lahat ng mga pinili
Na ang aking pananatili’y hindi pansarili lamang
Kundi ito’y aking pagpasyang piliin pa rin
Ang tahanan bagamat ito’y pinagtaksilan ng karamihan.

Sa mga pulong walang kapanatagan
At walang kapaliwanagan ang may kapangyarihan,
Ay naniniwala akong hindi paglisan ang solusyon.
At kung takot at pangamba ang kanilang mga naging dahilan,
Ay hindi ko kokonsintihin
Ang puso kong anumang oras
Ay kayang piliin na rin ang paglisan.
To Rashid Khan and Qais Ahmed

During dread and death,
You use leather and willow,
To show Afghan’s strength.
Two of my favourite cricketers, Rashad Khan and Qais Ahmed, are examples of strength and character. Even though the Taliban of taken over Afghanistan 🇦🇫, we can still use sports to help achieve peace.
SUDHANSHU KUMAR Aug 2021
Chaos everywhere,
Inhumanity rising!
Crying loud for peace...
Dedicated to current situation of Afghanistan 🇦🇫
I saw a man fly today
As he latched onto a last hope
A one way ticket to a land unknown
Didn’t care if he lost it all

I saw a man fly today
Thinking he was freedom bound
But he lost his grip and was earthbound
Strangers wept from the ground

I saw a man fly today
To our capital to give a speech
About a city that had been breached
By radicals who know no peace

I saw a man fly today
On a plane, vacation bound
And while his plane safely touches down
Millions of innocents cries resound
For those in Afghanistan whose lives have been disregarded and tossed aside like a used toy by an absolutely inept American government that doesn’t care about them.
081721

Bagamat dumadaplis lamang sa atin
Ang mga palaso ng kalaba’y
Hindi moog ang ating mga damdamin
At hindi rin bulag ang ating mga pananaw
Sa hayag na pagsasalitan ng mga balang ligaw.

Gaya ng durungawang nakasilip
Ay bukas na rin ang ating mga isipan
Sa mga di kanais-nais na mga patibong
Na ilang ulit inilagan sa katahimikan.
Bagkus, ang mga ito’y nagmistulang mga laruang papel
Na madaling napunit at bumigay
Buhat sa walang awang pamimihasa
Ng mga ahas at linta sa lipunan.

Tila sila’y nakasilid na lamang
Sa kahong hindi de-baterya
Habang tayo’y nagsisilipat
Sa tuwing nagsusulputan ang sari’t saring palatastas.

At habang tayo’y nananatiling panatag
Buhat sa ating mga kinatitirika’t kinalalagyan,
Kasabay naman nito ang pagyurak sa mga dangal
Buhat sa mga ideolohiyang kumikitil sa mga pangarap
At nagsisilbing diktador sa kani-kaniyang mga tahanang
Wala nang makita pang ibang dahilan upang tumahan pa.

Ang mga luhang hindi natin makayang punasa’y
Nagmimistulang mga tinik na lamang sa’ting mga pagkatao.
Syang susulpot at tutusok sa pakiramdam nating
Minsan nga’y malapit lamang tayo sa isa’t isa
At sana’y kaya nga nating patahimikin
Ang walang himpil na pag-usok sa kanilang ipinagbabaka.

At sa ating paghimlay sa ating mga kumot
Ay sabay din silang mangungulila
Sa mga akap at lambing ng kanilang mga mahal sa buhay
At hihilinging huminto na lamang ang mga sandali’t
Makatakbo sila’t makalisan nang walang nakakapansin.
kiran goswami Aug 2021
When the tale of the kite wraps itself around your neck,
And yet continues to fly, freely
You should now know that freedom to one comes at a cost to the other.

But you must wonder, as Jupiter and Zeus watch this storm,
that leaves nothing more than dust in their eyes;
It's funny how kites are a symbol of freedom when they are actually tied to a glass-coated cotton string.
The same cotton, that another boy who looks directly into your eyes could have worn.
It's funny how when one side of the coin is painted in platinum
and the other side struggles to know whether it's still a coin with value as it is being corroded.
Yes, they were one coin. Once.

The tulip blooms fade before the foliage dies,
every flower that dies is not reborn
But on the land it does, is.
When the flower is no more,
the green stem still remains.

But did the flower die from the wasp
that stung its nectar and perhaps even the pollen
or did it die from the feet that stepped upon
because they were inside the duststorm that disallows them to look at the ground.

Do all flowers that die are reborn?
How many flowers can one wasp even sting?
How many times can you stomp over one flower until it has no petals but only your footprints?

As you wonder,
The tail of the kite has been detached from its throne,
You look, as you wonder, if this is freedom or that was.

And another Hassan chases it yet again.
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