Power Vs Force ~ OpenLinkNight (4) ~ dVersePoets
The state of the world weighs heavy on my mind today, and I remain forever grateful to the wonderful community of dVersePoets, where every week we can come and lay down our words, to share, to reflect, and perhaps find a little piece of mind in knowing we're not all that crazy.
In this world of NOW, as the incompetency of our governments are pushed into the spotlight, the myth of civilized human beings seems to be just that...a myth. Rioting, feuding, looting...I believe we used to refer to it as raping, pillaging and plundering...is this what we have "evolved" to? The only thing I know with certainty, is that I will probably never understand us, nor what makes us do the things we do.
And knowing this, makes my world of poetry, my version of escapism, all that much more needed. And I need all of you to know, just how important each and every one of you are. We can change this world, and we can do it through understanding, compassion, respect for self and others, and through our poetry. Instead of Revolution, let us think of Renaissance...and write till we can't write no more! Here's to you, Poets, Readers,Friends and let's raise our glass to another OpenLinkNight at dVersePoets...where one of my best friends and favorite writers will be holding down the fort.
Mr. Joe Hesch...this one's for you!
Power Vs. Force
Take what once was
and hold on tight
to its silver stream of memory.
I promise you, it will be no more.
Take what once was
existing in its wet vapor
as it fills your lungs, holds you weighted.
I promised you I would not stay here.
Take what once was
and see me there,
captured forever in the eye of your mind.
I told you long ago I was leaving.
Take what once was
in cradled hands
though you know your strength will crush it
Power versus force?
You sacrifice your power
when you chose to force my heart.
Within my spirit, resistance was born.
Now, what once was is no more
Your dictatorship has been revoked
A wise man once said
"absolute power, corrupts absolutely"
and my heart has been lost to the shrapnel.
In this world of NOW, as the incompetency of our governments are pushed into the spotlight, the myth of civilized human beings seems to be just that...a myth. Rioting, feuding, looting...I believe we used to refer to it as raping, pillaging and plundering...is this what we have "evolved" to? The only thing I know with certainty, is that I will probably never understand us, nor what makes us do the things we do.
And knowing this, makes my world of poetry, my version of escapism, all that much more needed. And I need all of you to know, just how important each and every one of you are. We can change this world, and we can do it through understanding, compassion, respect for self and others, and through our poetry. Instead of Revolution, let us think of Renaissance...and write till we can't write no more! Here's to you, Poets, Readers,Friends and let's raise our glass to another OpenLinkNight at dVersePoets...where one of my best friends and favorite writers will be holding down the fort.
Mr. Joe Hesch...this one's for you!
Power Vs. Force
Take what once was
and hold on tight
to its silver stream of memory.
I promise you, it will be no more.
Take what once was
existing in its wet vapor
as it fills your lungs, holds you weighted.
I promised you I would not stay here.
Take what once was
and see me there,
captured forever in the eye of your mind.
I told you long ago I was leaving.
Take what once was
in cradled hands
though you know your strength will crush it
Power versus force?
You sacrifice your power
when you chose to force my heart.
Within my spirit, resistance was born.
Now, what once was is no more
Your dictatorship has been revoked
A wise man once said
"absolute power, corrupts absolutely"
and my heart has been lost to the shrapnel.
Comments
Being a looting rioting idiotic chum
Wonderful movement through the piece
From no more
To finally taking the detour
Yeah the governments crap is pathetic too
And that is way more than a single Face it Fact or two
Love:
"Within, my spirit, resistance was born."
Here's to the power of poetry, which surely cannot be forced. Lovely poem, Natasha!
David
I like these lines best:
Power versus force?
You sacrifice your power
when you chose to force my heart.
I am reminded of a line in a movie a Bugs life...
"Those puny little ants outnumber us a hundred to one and if they ever figure that out there goes our way of life" -Bugs life
Creativity and inspiration changes the world.
Power nearly always corrupts. There are Peeps who are (almost always) trustworthy, kind, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
Would that we each had found that one--grin!
(And still smiling at your comment!)
It's a scary world we live in these days and, it's not going to get any better because we've bred a whole generation of kids who have long lists of ready and waiting 'I wants' to be met.
I'm from Brighton, England an hour or so drive from London. My heart aches for all those affected by all of it.
Your prose is powerful in it's imagery of taking back control of your own life that you had given up.
Thanks for sharing.
when you chose to force my heart."
Love those lines and full of truth! This poem is powerful, pointing to the pain of tyranny-- whether it is in a personal relationship or with a political body... read this several times, really enjoyed it.
"Take what once was
in cradled hands
though you know your strength will crush it"
I loved it. I think I'll read it again.
Lance
This is a profound statement and I am honored that you’ve shared it here. You speak of self possession and passion, the boundaries required to create and remain grounded, and the inner work that allows us to be brave enough to show our faces in the world. This is beautiful, you are beautiful, and I hope you continue your virtuous fight against doubt. Your participation in a supportive and engaging community of poets at dVerse is a wonderful gift you have given all of us.
"You sacrifice your power
when you chose to force my heart", loved this.
We are indeed living in sad, mad times. It seems so difficult to understand why or even if there is a why. I wonder what, if anything, we will learn from the last few days of madness?
Wonderful words, thank you so much for sharing them with us!
I think you have a couple of little problems. Firstly with this stanza
Power versus force? [I'd cut this line as you have it in the title]
You sacrifice your power
when you chose to force my heart.
You have a tense problem in the last two lines. It should be sacrificed.
More serious 'nit' with the last stanza
Now, what once was is no more [this line is a little clumsy - 'Now' is redundant and also it might work better written - What once was, is no more]
Your dictatorship has been revoked
A wise man once said
"absolute power, corrupts absolutely"
and my heart has been lost to the shrapnel.
I love the last line but there's no real correlation between that and the lines immediately above or the rest of the piece, no mention of guns or weaponry of any sort, which leaves that line (although good) out on a limb.
Not sure what to suggest at the moment, will think on it a bit more.
Other than that I think it's a really strong write.
Wow you have such amazing positivty - I can hear your up beat voice really pushing thru in your opening note.
Your clearly channeling all your power into writing great lines;-]
as u can tell(from my poetry) I have a fairly twisted outlook (not always), so any poem that ends with SHRAPNEL - i love!
Thanks for adding a bit of upbeat tempo to my day!
And David, thanks for the "aside" about Lord Acton. Didn't realize that.
Great read and this seem to be a great observation of the world around us. Worldwide and interpersonal relationships.
Really liked the part about their power being revoked! Inspiring and oh so true.
As an aside: Is this a patterned form I would love to try one?
"Within my spirit, resistance was born." I do love this line, that and the idea of "my heart has been lost to the shrapnel."
You threw a big net over a nasty world and drew it into a personal-size bag of dismay. Favorite lines: "You sacrifice your power / when you chose to force my heart."
On a personal note...you blush me, dear heart.