Toyota trucks

· by · in free verse, poetry. ·


Hell is empty and all the devils are here.
The Tempest, William Shakespeare


Her hair is torn, a scalp is left.
their hands were desert knives
Merciless the dead horizon
of Toyota truck invasions.

Unbearded once were born,
the men of thousand wives
once sucked their mother’s breast

In deserts wind — a red abrasion
the wounds of girls undressed
and mothers left bereft
to their zealous laughter

Landscape by Frida Kahlo

Landscape by Frida Kahlo


Today the Kerry’s challenge at toads is to write something in 55 words with the additional challenge of using a quotation for inspiration. I will also link up to Poetry Pantry tomorrow.
—
June 6, 2015

41 responses to “Toyota trucks”

  1. I was totally expecting something else from the title, but the poem quickly lived up to the quotation–and the images of war and waste will be with me for awhile–strongly written, and sadly, too terribly true.

  3. Your description immediately puts me in mind of the devastating aftermath of genocidal wars which are ongoing in Africa and other parts of the world. This is graphic, painful yet necessary commentary.

  4. I always wonder what happens to someone to get from a baby suckling a tender breast to an armed participant in war. Like Kerry, this poem makes me think of the brutal wars going on in Africa, and other places, where the savagery is beyond comprehension, what humans can do to one another. Well penned. As Kerry says, a necessary commentary. I am working on a chat for Poets United titled Poetry and Social Justice………your poem fits right in with where my thoughts are taking me this week.

  11. Such is the persuasive influence of religious cant that can justify atrocities. Sadly is happens over and over again that minds are warped by the lure of power and reward.

  13. Toyota’s are nasty but Jeeps are evil. But I am trying to avoid the fact that I am just a little bit unclear as to what you are writing about.

  14. The menace of invasion…misplaced power can indeed lead to a hell where nobody hears you crying..a very vivid and powerful piece which gives voice to those women and children

  18. The sinister tone & the word pictures drawn with your lines really express the tragedy and the horror of what is happening in our world today.

  19. Not a pretty picture! Mad Max, Afghanistan, gangs…? Vividly written.

  20. I’m with hedgewitch…not at all what I was expecting from the title…but glad I read this. Powerful piece. I wonder how often the soldiers in ISIS and other such groups think of the fact that without women, they would not be here.

  23. Toyota trucks are evil warlords, while Dodge Rams just haul sheep and goats to the county fair…. (My truck made me write that.)
    A very excellent poem not swallowed up by the message.

  25. Even the most evil of person was once a child and suckled at their mothers breast, but what happened to change them, that they would take and violate?

  30. I paused after reading your poem, Bjorn. Its sensitivity to war is someone worth reflecting. From an innocent, delicate child to a monster created by selfishness. No one can blame these monsters though. They are not real monsters after all. Only coined by the victims and both sides have.

  32. Stark, visceral and intense. The quote: perfect. Such horrors are an affront to all humankind and, as such, are agonizing to contemplate. But it is incumbent upon descent, moral people to do so. A compelling post.

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