In boldest headlines see a coming war
like charcoal spilled on snow, this war
the pride of nations on our heroes lie
I see those eyes that burn for coming war
are we prepared for battles, screaming men?
the weapons sharpened for the brutal war
as my finger trace lines of sooty ink
I look for a salvation from this war
alas the hope is low, our armies are prepared
to fight and shed their blood – we are at war
and meanwhile in Ukraine, it is for real
but nothing can compare to our nation’s war
to play for gold or grab the silver coin
I will survive and I can bear this war
From wikimedia commons
Today in dVerse we write poetry inspired by fables, and I will tend the bar myself.
I wrote this ghazal reading through the newspaper seeing the headlines for the Olympic hockey-final compared to the situation in Ukraine. But I guess for a day we will be at war with Canada – smiles. At the end from all this rumble it will only be a little mouse coming out.
Aesop fable to inspire me was:
The mountain in labor
Moral: Don’t make much ado about nothing
—
February 22, 2014
Ah, yes Bjorn…you and I are at war…but whether the game goes to red and white or to blue and yellow, I hope that we still emerge as friends. 🙂 so true, though that there are so many conflicts that are so much more serious…where blood and lives are at stake. Wonderful poem.
Thank you.. it was a lot more difficult than I thought myself
Oh, I hear you on this, Bjorn. I was heartbroken when the American women hockey team lost to Canada & also when the American men lost to Canada. Canada definitely has proven to be a force to be reckoned with. And yes, for a while these Olympic wars are given top billing…but so true, in the long run, there is much ado…………
in reality just a little mouse …
So proud that Canada won in hockey games ~ Go team go ~ But in the end, if we are all friends, and look at where the real war is, then maybe we can be all united in that issue ~
Looking forward to later Bjorn though I will be a little late ~
Ah.. yes I do too.. so far this is looking promising…
In the prairies & tundra of Canada, kids learn to play hockey instead of baseball, basketball, & tennis; tough kids with sharp skates & rough fists. Isn’t hockey a giant draw & pursuit in Sweden as well? Kudos, of course, to your fine ghazal form; a fine illustration of your prompt, for sure.
Oh yes hockey is very big here .. and tomorrow Sweden and Canada play for gold… hence the poem..
Violent sports are, they say, a moral equivalent for war, a bounded place where all that aggression can get released: Yet it keeps enough blood on the lips to keep us thirsty for more, and therein lies the faulty logic. We think that kickass on the rink somehow compares to Ukraine. Really. Much ado about nothing, indeedy. Great stuff.
Ha. yes.. it is really compared to that real thing
the juxtaposition of the games against the uprising – sad to say more people are interested in the medal count than the death count
Indeed.. like the rumbling mountain…
spoiling for a fight: yearning and burning for war. As long as Ice hockey and the like keep the real thing at bay, I will gladly endorse games like it. What an interesting philosophy woven into your ghazal.
Oh yes.. just some amazing contrasts…
the charcoal spilled on snow…you have an awesome way of describing things so vividly!!
stacy lynn mar
http://warningthestars.blogspot.com/
Yay .. thank you so much…
Ahh I was thinking of those contrasts… could it be starker.. like the drop of blod in the snow right next to the ebenholtz windowsill.. that was Snowwhite.
I don’t really understand this poem – probably because I am phobic about war, and don’t believe in its glory and all that mumbo jumbo. What is happening in Ukraine is horrendous and heartbreaking – will it end as another Syria?
Oh I fully agree.. I was referring to all the importance that papers put in the hockey championship… I guess being Canadian or Swede helps in this.. many people take that attitude of war… which I set against the situation in Ukraine…
ugh…its all too real in the ukraine…a much different war than that on the ice…the one on the ice the usa was pretty much humiliated in today…ha….war though, true war touches us all…and how long will it be before we are pulled into one much larger…
I hope we can continue the war on ice… And tonight I guess it’s war.
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heavy news now streaming from Caracas. Looks like for now the Ukranian president has fled, though ~
Indeed, and before this it was Egypt
Yes, there are too much of other more important things to bother us. Just let it be! Wonderful write Bjorn!
Hank
I think it rumble quite high sometimes.
Good and timely poem, Bjorn. War and all types of violence are always rearing their ugly heads somewhere. I almost hate to read the paper these days.
Maybe the irony is that we love those headlines for sport is just because of that.
The news has been a bit disturbing ..when will violence stop..
We can just hope.. Just hope.
Ahh..what a beautiful game of life..it could be.. if the only battles..are played..on a playing field..instead of killing
fields…
Which reminds me of the book ‘ONE’ by Richard Bach..looking toward a day..when mankind’s only tribal wars..are playful games..with each other..that merit accomplishment..
rather than death.
A very real concern… Making it into a game…
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Gloves off ~ Canada 🙂
Hope not… But I guess it might be tough..
i think one difference between the olympic games and a real war is the spirit..the competing but then shaking hands and respect what the other accomplished…in a real war everyone is losing…it frightens me what happens in the ukraine right now..
and thanks for tending bar björn…
It was my pleasure
So true…many a war are started from much ado about nothing…so tragic. And sadly the moral of this tale is ignored by the powers that be. Thanks for tending bar, Bjorn. I may try and write my own fable when I can find the time…and the idea.
AH. there are more days to link up… I found this difficult myself..
Ukraine has suffered so much. When they finally were let go of being Russia’s bread provider they thought they would prosper under capitalism. Unfortunately their banks failed because of Russian resistance to their prosperity. This gave them such hardship that many of their men killed themselves for shame of bankruptcy. When they suffered dictatorship under communism they at least had pride in their work. Now it is the turn of the new generation to see the might of the Russian hand. God forbid we see the shedding of their blood too. I have been there and seen the WW2 monuments to the mind boggling number of Jews murdered by the Nazis which their children still commemorate each Sunday.
Agree.. and therefore it feels so frustrating to have the news dominated by the Olympic news.
Your point is well made here, Bjorn…if only we would make Olympian efforts at peace and freedom for everyone! The oppressed don’t get much press, it seems…
A cool write Bjorn – it reminds me of the song that was launched before last football world cup – waving flag.
Another question if I may ask, in which sense you are referring the word ghazal? My understanding was that it stands for Urdu poetry.
Ghazal exist in many languages and is a poetic form like the sonnet.. I tried to follow the form using the word war as theme word.
You may get two comments form me as not sure where the last one want! Good to engagement with a form
Loved the lines,”as my finger trace lines of sooty ink
I look for a salvation from this war”.Am not into sports,so never could understand the brouhaha over games but to each his own :-)Sad,how we as human beings have lost the ability of using our senses and co-existing peacefully or at least cordially-its always about power-sickening-I feel depressed reading or seeing such news!But a great write this Bjorn:-)
I try to keep wars “over there” and out of my life. I can’t handle juggling so much over which I have no control. I think that’s what you said…
As always, you use the words well.