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ms reluctance Apr 2020
We call them heroes, send them to fight
armed with plastic armor, much extolled valor.
They are isolated inside the veil of gratitude,
Drafted in a terrible war they never asked for.

We call them heroes, our robust knights
who will slay the beast, shield us from its fury.
We try to forget the open secret that they were,
in fact, robbed of a choice, ****** into glory.

We call them heroes without ever knowing
the face behind their masks and elastic bands.
These worrisome times will come to pass;
meanwhile, we stay inside and wash our hands.
NaPoWriMo Day 13
Poetry form: Quatrain
Mark Toney Apr 2020
Among mankind's best—
Brave, courageous
Heroes who do no harm
Assuaging our fear
With fellow feeling and care
Amidst viral strains' stealthy swarm

Among mankind's worst—
Mean, dastardly
Zeros who do know harm
Stoking pandemic fear
Scamming the unsuspecting ear
With a smiling swindler's charm

Heroes & Zeros
Best and worst of mankind—
What a dichotomy!
We'll keep hoping instead
For a bright future ahead
Daily coping with anxiety


© 2020 by Mark Toney. All rights reserved.
4/12/2020 - Poetry form: Rhyme - © 2020 by Mark Toney. All rights reserved.
Kailey Jones Apr 2020
I've been on Earth for 5150 days
And I've come to the conclusion that
people are sick

We have stolen for only ourselves

We have killed without thinking twice

We have persecuted for thrills

We have taken advantage for satisfaction

We have tortured for revenge

We have blown up because of one man's instruction

We have terminated species for space

We have disrespected for payback

We have decimated for attention

We have walked out to lead a childless life

We have betrayed for fictional assurances

We have destroyed planets for Jordan's and KD's

We have airbourned sicknesses to control the population


It's what we're best at.
No one alive cannot check something off of this list
No matter how good our intentions are in this moment
We have humanized ourselves
I don't want to be humanized
I want to change
These are just some things that we humans have done by our natural, sadistic nature. I'm sorry.
Michael R Burch Mar 2020
DPAA Hymn for Fallen Soldiers
by Michael R. Burch

Sound the awesome cannons.
Pin medals to each breast.
Attention, honor guard!
Give them a hero’s rest.

Recite their names to the heavens
Till the stars acknowledge their kin.
Then let the land they defended
Gather them in again.

When I learned there’s an American military organization, the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency), that is still finding and bringing home the bodies of soldiers who died serving their country in World War II, after blubbering like a baby, I managed to eke out this poem. Keywords/Tags: Fallen, Soldiers, Heroes, Patriots, POWs, MIAs, Stars, honor, guard, medals, honor, tribute, memorial
Michael R Burch Mar 2020
Mending
by Michael R. Burch

I am besieged with kindnesses;
sometimes I laugh,
delighted for a moment,
then resume
the more seemly occupation of my craft.

I do not taste the candies;
the perfume
of roses is uplifted
in a draft
that vanishes into the ceiling’s fans

that spin like old propellers
till the room
is full of ghostly bits of yarn ...
My task
is not to knit,

but not to end too soon.

This is a poem for the survivors of 9–11 whose families lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks. Keywords: 911, survivors, victims, first, responders, passengers, firemen, police, heroes, terrorist, attacks, World Trade Center, Flight 93, Pentagon, White House
Michael R Burch Mar 2020
Flight 93
by Michael R. Burch

I held the switch in trembling fingers ... asked
why existence felt so small, so meaningless,
like a minnow squirming feebly in my grasp ...

... vibrations of huge engines thrummed my arms
as, glistening with sweat, I nudged the switch
to OFF ... I heard the klaxon’s shrill alarms

like vultures’ shriekings ... earthward, in a stall ...
we floated ... earthward ... wings outstretched, aghast
like Icarus ... as through the void we fell ...

till nothing was so beautiful, so blue ...
so vivid as that moment ... and I held
an image of your face, and dreamed I flew

into your arms ... the earth rushed up ... I knew
such comfort, in that moment, loving you.

NOTE: This poem imagines the struggle in the cockpit for control of the Flight 93 airplane. The terrorists apparently intended to crash the plane into the White House. The heroic passengers kept that from happening, at the cost of their lives. Keywords/Tags: 9-11, sonnet, Flight 93, terrorists, terrorism, heroes, heroism, courage, bravery, loyalty, patriotism, sacrifice, love
Tyler Matthew Mar 2020
As sun sets over the mountain,
crowning this miraculous country,
wreathing it in purest gold,
visions of absent glory
cleave to the luster hanging,
suspended above the contours
of this majestic empire,

and by the light of that brilliant corona,
enduring the blameless and bitter dusts of time,
a delicate mirage emerges,
chronicling the last vestiges
of the valorous heroes who came before,
who influence our proud and dignified march.

And where a ceremony awaits -
beyond the scope of that western realm,
beyond the reach of that bleeding sun
into which silhouettes now fade -
to laurel today's new hero with a crown
of golden light,
so too awaits the ecstatic promise
of a brand-new, untamed world.
Title taken from and poem inspired by a song, "The Ecstasy of Gold" by Ennio Morricone.
Danté Le Beau Feb 2020
Superpowers-
People always wonder what it would be like to have superpowers like their favourite heroes,
Their hero’s powers are purely subjective as you will see,

For the person who wishes for invisibility, ask an introvert in a business how it feels, to not feel seen, to feel like no one can hear your voice, and feel like you could not be present and no one would notice the difference,

For the person who wishes for super strength,
Turn to people who lost loved ones, people who suffered heartache, people who dealing with strife. These people have the strength to wake up in a morning, and carry on, with the weight of their emotions on their shoulders, but they know to keep moving.
A Sign of true strength.

For the person who wishes for the ability to read minds,
Stay with the people who love you, build strong relationships, care for those around you and over time you will learn their expressions, reading them a book, knowing what they’re thinking and feeling.

For the person who wishes for super speed,
Practice, master, do things with passion and dedication, the expression follows “it takes ten thousand  hours to master something”,  view this as a starting block. With time, speed and proficiency will come and you’ll be able to amaze the others around you

For the person who wishes for the ability to move things with your mind,
Never take what you have for granted, for it could all be taken away so quickly, soldiers who have lost their hands, or arms serving their country no longer have this ability, artists who suffer from nervous system disorders who are no longer able to create. Never take the ability of free movement for granted, you move things with your mind every day.

For the person who wishes for super agility,
Read, solve puzzles, read the news and learn constantly, agility is a loose term and mental agility is actually useful. The ability to learn things quickly, the ability to adapt and evolve is invaluable.

For the person who wishes to heal quickly,
Be comfortable with your emotions, your thoughts, and express them in a healthy manner, because if you can get comfortable with yourself, then the healing process won’t be as destructive nor be as long.

For the person who wishes to be bulletproof,
Take pride in yourself, be it your looks, your smarts, your personality, or a mixture of all three, insecurities are what make us vulnerable, but if you work on them, people will have less control over your mood and view of the world.

If you learn to do all of these things every day, even if it is not for long, over time you will seem like a superhero in a world filled with people who lost their way.

Just remember,
Superheroes help out every day people, no matter who they are.
Julie Grenness Jan 2020
I met a check-out chick the other day,
I asked how was her New Year's Day, okay,
She said she had a dreadful New Year's Day.
Her boyfriend battling bushfires with the CFA,
He had never been so far away,
What on earth could I say?
Our firies are like superheroes today,
Right there with Superman, okay?
Would you give them a salary or lunch money? Hey,
They don't do it for the money, okay?
Well, give them all a gold medal,  I say,
When these bushfires are gone one day,
Chats about our firies everywhere these days!
Feedback welcome.
Janna Dec 2019
Pen and paper are the best friend
To the words in my mouth
That I cannot express out loud
Pen and paper are the sidekick
To the problems that heroes can't fix
Pen and paper are the beginning steps
To peeling back the layers of my soul cry
Pen and paper are the pain killers
To relieve the discomfort that doesn't easily die
Pen and paper are my therapy
Don't get me a therapist, I'm more a realist
Pen and paper holds a deep and dark side
That if you ever discover my words
You might never see me in the same light
-soulwriterj
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