Voice
This voice. This is madness, isn't it?
Sense niggles, though logic is lost
I can hear its cries
But it shouts louder
And it won't let go
All these unheard echoes
That haunt my head
I give in for a little while
And it eases...for a little while
So I slip my mask back on once more
Smile, laugh, joke
and
You have no idea
What torment screams inside me.
Remember…
Poppies in fields
Bullet holes ripped through the world
Each one a screaming mouth
A protest to atrocities
A medal of the brave
The ranks of good people who fought to save
Who stood up to adversity
Bullet cases jettisoned in the heat of war
Now cool and buried under a civilian law
How easy it is to forget
To disrespect
That's why it's important to take a moment
A little time
To remember
Remember the fear
The hurt and the pain
The loss
The ones who gave with nothing to gain
The brave that endured
So that we could thrive and be free
A minutes silence for you and me
Echoes of explosions and gunfire for the ones that served
The quiet that can never be preserved
The silence never quenched when you witness people die
Your friends and colleagues
The good times and the highs
Shot down by treachery and lies
Conflict and denies
Trodden underfoot in demented trenches
Ripped overhead by barbed wire fences
How do you quiet the spoils of war?
For the ones that served
One minute silence is the least that they deserve...
© Richard Withey. All rights reserved.
Standing Dedication
He shot his horse.
In a shallow grave
Foaming at the mouth
Rendered useless and
Suffering
And in concert with
The twilight ascending
In its heavy-set sky
The light was smeared
With the blood on his hands
His crimson-hued guilt
And it reflected his image
Standing remorseful
But stoic
As he shadowed the corpse
Silently sorry and cursing
At God for His Plan and
The culmination of loss
In a crescendo crushed
Pity seeping with apologies
Until his regret was dimmed
At the sight of his wife
Approaching with mercy and
Her braided hair
Weaving her compassion
And draped over her shoulder
On her Guardian's stable rest
Bringing peace to the graveside
From behind their oak tree
Engraved with their dignity
Aged together and blossomed
And as she placed her hand
On the sway of her husband's back
Steadying his burden and
Exorcising his pain
She gave him the strength
And the permission to forgive
Himself and his resolve
And she reminded him to exhale
The aching despondency
In-exchange for deep breaths
Of love and acceptance
And with no words spoken
The funeral was palpable and loud
Honesty & Loyalty Over and Against Expediency
Above all, be honest.
At all times be honest.
Your honesty is not something which can be bought nor negotiated - it must be who you are rather than who you can be. Truth cannot have a price tag with you, for then your honesty is only when it is expedient and not when it is necessary to hold back the darkness in this world. Honesty is not about expediency, nor about being insensitive. Honesty is about being loving to your audience - to love them enough to not allow them to be deceived by a lie, no matter how appealing such lie may be.
And be loyal too.
Do not forsake being loyal.
Your loyalty, as with honesty, cannot be something that is bought or negotiated - loyalty is not a part of a contract but a character of your soul. It must be given without price to pay or favors to be given - it cannot have a price or condition. For upon the moment it is conditioned your loyalty is not loyalty at all but rather a supremacy of expediency. Loyal is who you must be, not who you can be in the proper circumstances.
There could be so much more to say, but honesty and loyalty must be who you are. If you are honest and loyal you shall also be loving and strong - for to tell a hard truth is nonetheless loving, and to stand by someone at a hard time takes strength as well as loyalty. These two entail many other things but must be focused upon for they require these other things. Therefore to be honest and loyal is to be much more that solely honest and loyal.
- Mr. DH
The Blackest Day, Darkest Night and the Brightest Day
In blackest day,
And in darkest night,
Who shall snuff out the light?
Shall it not shine on through the ages?
What darkness shall snuff it out?
What blackness shall quench the brightness?
Indeed, no darkness can banish the light;
Nay, it is the light which vanishes all darkness and shadow.
What dark shadow shall stand before the light of brightest day?
None, for no shadow may withstand the light.
- Mr. DH
Your Love
Don't put your love in a heart, for a heart can be broken.
Put it in a circle instead, since a circle goes round and round forever.
Don't say I love you, without knowing the weight of the words behind it.
Instead, say I like you, for it is easier to like than to love.
People don't fall in or out of love.
They only fall for what they think they loved.
The out of part comes when they change to someone else.
Your love can be so special.
You just have to nourish it until it is that.
Love, in it's purest form.
Balance
The moon and the stars
balance on the beam of your smile.
Your silvery, succulent smile
wets my appetite for promise
and hope trapped in your eyelashes,
awakening a tender optimism
as my life glows in your amber hues.
I yearn to copy and paste your grin
and zip you into my heart as
smile’s vibrant vibes float high
upon the fervent breeze which
you have stirred in my soul.
Laughing countenance radiates
in my core and drinks my essence.
Infinity door slams shut on
the qualms of my past.
The sheath of my skin
knows not the folly of madness
as I laugh freely the way
I remember the rain.
Your smile shines once more
as day breaks on our beginning.
