Warrior Vs. Soldier @dVersePoets #OpenLinkNight


If you could take it back…would you?
So often, actions are nothing more than response to stimuli…
Words from the heart
acts out of anger
rage through terror.
No matter the device
the constant instigator
Shit disturber

Like the rubber band, stretching, cracking
I finally split
Propelled beyond your wildest imagination
Mutation
Flesh shredded,
as the beast you never knew I owned
emerges.

Tearing apart the very being they had you convinced I was.
Swallow now
Once breathing returns to normal.
No fear, my dear
Blood shed is common when one awakens to truth.
It seems to be the nasty way of our species

Killing to hang on to a 17th century rule book
Based on a playing field that was eroded by the time
It made it to mass publication.
Where are we to hang the noose
When there are only brambles and castrated clay?
The sea swallowed the tree eons ago.

You whisper such sweet words
When your survival is on the line…
Yet once my back is turned
You can’t resist throwing the knife…
It’s the way of the soldier…
To do the bidding of others.

While the free thinking warriors
Take the bullets
For those too afraid to speak
It is what it is
It was what it was
And I am nothing
If not free.

If you could take it back
I wouldn’t let you
I don’t shed skin…for just anyone.



 Brian is the man with the keys for this weeks poetry pub crawl at OpenLinkNight. The words will be on tap, and the stage will be ready and waiting.  There's always room for you to take the stage at dVersePoets...and if there's not...we'll make it pretty quick. See you at the pub!

Comments

Brian Miller said…
the first part made me think about things done in the emotion of the moment...not always the best time to do much....but then again there are breaking points when it just has to be let out...ugh on the back stabbers as well....
Uneven Stephen said…
Good one, Natasha! Really LOVE this stanza in particular:

"Killing to hang on to a 17th century rule book
Based on a playing field that was eroded by the time It made it to mass publication.
Where are we to hang the noose When there are only brambles and castrated clay?
The sea swallowed the tree eons ago."

Also enjoy "constant instigator / Shit disturber" and the rubber band imagery.
Pat Hatt said…
Yeah best to wait for an open mind
Before getting up ones behind
They like their old rules
The stupid old fools
Screw that I say
Disturb the shit I will at my bay
Unknown said…
free thinkers certainly do take all the bullets and since there's more ignorance than common sense in this world we usually end up looking like the bad guys and/or odd ones out...

amazing write tash!
welshstream said…
Powerful stuff Tash and stuff in there we all own and experienced ... as the beast you never knew I owned emerges.
that is an incredible line
Loved this, esp the ending. I can almost see you winking an eye toward the reader.

You're my favorite shit disturber.
Love, Mosk
"Tearing apart the very being they had you convinced I was."

Frank Watson said…
The poem crackles with edginess, biting the reader raw. I nearly jumped out of my seat when I read “Where are we to hang the noose / When there are only brambles and castrated clay?”

A field of men—
Their souls still seen
Through a foggy mist.
Anonymous said…
you should really let go a little, don't hold back so much. ;)
Mary said…
This is the stanza that affects me:

"You whisper such sweet words
When your survival is on the line…
Yet once my back is turned
You can’t resist throwing the knife…
It’s the way of the soldier…
To do the bidding of others"

You have captured a certain kind of person perfectly here...the kind who smiles when you are present and sneers behind your back.

And then "I am nothing if not free." Our freedom is worth so much, and we have to make sure we keep it. Sometimes what we have is taken for granted until bits and pieces are eaten away and we don't realize what is gone until it is too late.
mrs mediocrity said…
this has so many wonderful layers and lines, this one being a favorite: "The sea swallowed the tree eons ago."

such a rich tapestry here, I need to hang it on my wall and stare at it for a while...
Tash, the sea swallowing the tree, the 17th century rule book. Ironic that, whether in love or on the playing field or the battlefield, that impulse to disturb, to do violence (even in words) is in us all. Excellent write, Natasha! Amy
http://sharplittlepencil.com/2012/09/11/comes-the-revolution-for-riley/
Ginny Brannan said…
"If you could take it back
I wouldn’t let you
I don’t shed skin…for just anyone."

A strong, intense, almost visceral poem. A lot of emotion felt behind and throughout. I liked this a lot.
jackie dick said…
I loved this piec, Tash. Brave, raw, honest..I'm your twin here, girl. A great write! Excelsior!
Vinay Leo R. said…
The first line leads me on to the verse.. and the first line itself has so much to say in itself. So often we'd say, "if only I could take it back" but not mean it, and the other still takes the hurt. Thought-provoking one, Tash.
Unknown said…
so full of passion and emotion ...loved it shows real spirit against adversity ....thanks for sharing and always inspiring x x
You are always right there on the line with your work--I love the raw truths I find in it--
Grace said…
passionate voice...I specially like these lines:

Blood shed is common when one awakens to truth.
It seems to be the nasty way of our species
Beachanny said…
Poem by poem I see you peeling off the facade of a former conforming skin for the emerging newer self defined to be free, to bravely state that the emperor has new clothes, that some things have edges. You show that the grays aren't as gray as they've been spun, but made up of black and white threads, and it may be time to unravel them to reveal the truth. This poem is another revelation!
Beachanny said…
ehrr...that should be "no clothes" (which he thought were new as I recall..ha ha..possibly a freudian slip, I fear)
marousia said…
Free thinkers do take all the bullets - great writing as ever
Daydreamertoo said…
Oooo..this is raw in its truth and doesn't hold back on any of its hard hitting punches. The beast you never knew was in me... phew!
Most of us have so many sides that we don't show others too.
But there is too much about this that is too good to mention. So, I'll say
what a fabulous poem!
Unknown said…
A compelling write sister, I enjoyed the emotions you palpated with imagery in this. Send you love ~ Rose
Anonymous said…
You had me at hello.....wonderful write
" If you could take it back…would you?
So often, actions are nothing more than response to stimuli…
Words from the heart
acts out of anger
rage through terror.
No matter the device
the constant instigator
Shit disturber"
flaubert said…
Tash, you have captured the side of man, which is most disappointing to me, and all too common. Powerful write.

Pamela
Tash, I don't know the difference. So when confronted with any internal feelings about it I try to think of two things. One of those is Ashton, who was driving a truck in Afghanistan with her Colonel as a passenger when they were struck by an IED. Ashton was 18. She was 11 when I saw her last, when I moved away from her neighborhood. Her mom was a lone parent, working endlessly, at minimum wage jobs or little better after her husband left her with two kids. His new wife, the reason he left, was a stripper who, during the only time I ever met her, bragged about her boob job that he had paid for. Needless to say, I was on the mom's side. And Ashton's too. My wife and I helped raise those two kids until we moved away for a job. We were like family.

Some people think shrapnel kills instantly. That's not always true. If a person is lucky then the wounds will stop the flow of blood to the brain immediately, maybe the heart or carotid artery, if devastated enough, could cause that. He'll pass out pretty quickly and the brain will die 6 or 7 minutes later. But it's a matter of percentages, and those chances aren't high. In most cases the body is riddled with dozens or hundreds of small, sharp, metal fragments, piercing vital organs, blood vessels, and pretty important stuff. But usually it's a slow bleed, 10 minutes to 2 or 3 hours, laying there helpless in a smoky truck, maybe on it's side. Bleeding, unable to move or help herself, watching the blood flow from parts of her body. In a hostile area where help is not instant, nor even necessarily aware that she was there. I wonder if while she laid there if she had a chance to think of her mom, or say a prayer for her, or her brother... I like to think that she did.

The other thing i think about is freedom, which I think a lot of people take for granted. You mentioned it in your poem. I mean we are free. We can sleep easy at night, nestled in our blankets, and our loving families. But only because those kids are out there, those brave souls that make this life possible. We can say anything we want.... You can. People may disagree with you but they can't kill you, or put you in jail, or stop you from saying whatever it is you want to say. You can put a crucifix in a jar of piss, for God's sake, and no one can touch you.

But these people can come over and kill us by the thousands, and then kill one of the greatest kids I've ever known because she wanted to stop them?

No Tash, I don't know the difference between soldier and warrior. I only know the difference between good and evil. Ashton was good. And those bastards she was helping to kill over there, are evil......

I want a perfect world. I don't want war. But that's called Heaven and we all have to find our own path to reach it.

Powerful write Tash.... Quite thought provoking for 9/11...
this left me trembling, Natasha. on first reading, i was thinking of 9/11. on second reading, i was thinking less specifically.

"I don't shed skin
...for just anyone."

brilliant!

Anonymous said…
So intense. I've had to come back a few times and read and reread and reread. Intricate and intense.

These lines...wow:

Where are we to hang the noose
When there are only brambles and castrated clay?
The sea swallowed the tree eons ago.

Incredible writing.
Susie Clevenger said…
Great piece Natasha!
" Killing to hang on to a 17th century rule book Based on a playing field that was eroded by the time It made it to mass publication" This hit me hard. I have had my own personal battle with religion and its stoning of those who don't follow their rule book.
Chris Lawrence said…
Natasha it is difficult sometimes to convey some emotions, but here you have done so, so vividly powerfully and poignantly, i love it
Glenn Buttkus said…
Truth and gut-splitting honesty permeate this piece, Nat. I loved it. Your strength is impressive, though newly acquired perhaps? Liked the lines /while the free thinking warriors/take the bullet/for those too afraid to speak/, but better to dodge the bullet if you can.
Seasideauthor said…
Great peace and I like the part where you would not let them take it back. I would not either.
Unknown said…
Excellent read Tash. So many killer lines in here. Outstanding at every level. Thanks
RMP said…
intense from the start...a lovely piece!

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