Hear the crackle
of gunfire blood-bombs,
the clicking of steel onto steel
hark the cackle
from contracted mercenaries
hired for casual carnage
for killings, for feeding
the cravings of jackals,
for offering spoil to carrion crows,
blood-eyed, tearing at tendons
cartilage, sinews, and bones
from toddlers
tied to the crime of existing,
alive, born into freedom,
hear the hissing of silence
left in the wake
of the looters that left.
Franz Stuck
Today I host MTB on dissonace at dVerse. Make it hard to read by breaking up assonance using hard and ugly words, fill us with dread.
June 2, 2022
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Hard to read with all those crackling bombs and tearing of the bones. The hissing of the silence is so loud. Good example of showcasing dissonance.
so many sounds you found for dissonance! – I especially liked the alliteration and inner rhymes (as well as the image)
“hark the cackle
This is incredibly potent, Bjorn! There are so many sounds here especially; “the cackle from contracted mercenaries hired for casual carnage,..” one can actually visualize it all. Brilliant.
Sharp, shrill, and bone-cracking. The Teutonic assonance grinds like skulls under its boots.
“hark the cackle” is a such a great phrase, right up there with “barbarous yawp.” Loved it.
“hark the cackle
from contracted mercenaries
hired for casual carnage”…and then we feel the carrion’s claws, and are not let go, until the last cracked, splintered line….those poor, poor toddlers……….in Ukraine it will take generations, but outside too….we have witnessed an onslaught of such ferocious barbarism…your cracking was heard here…
Ass-kicking prose, hard edged ugly truth. I see the tension in your jaw as you wrote this, share the anger, sorrow and tears this induces. I am proud to call you brother.
Like others, a difficult read – because it’s so close to today – and the endless war. The humour of your choice of artwork a light tone in the grimness.
The art you chose to accompany this difficult to read poem is perfect … if only we could cover our ears, our eyes and make it all disappear.
“gunfire blood-bombs” created an amazing dissonance with “toddlers.” Very well done.
casual carnage…way too much of that (K)
This felt very raw and actually gave me shivers 😦
from toddlers
tied to the crime of existing,
alive, born into freedom,
… Strong stuff
War in Ukraine, shootings in the U.S., children dying…all the hiss of demonic dissonance. A disturbing and powerful meeting the bar, Bjorn!
I wonder if dissonance in a poem about war could be in floral, pastoral imagery? It would be difficult to pull off, but worth a try.
Like poppies flew on Flander’s field
crackle, cackle, carnage and jackal …discordant sounds that rhyme so beautifully
So much truth in your prose.