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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: War and Peace (not about the book) (07/07/11)
Silence is golden
Just a few peaceful seconds
When time stands still
Clocks suddenly stopping
Ticking and tocking
Everything is on pause.
As if in still motion
The mind cannot encompass
The enormity, the vastness
Of the commotion
That in a second has shattered
Our world as we had known it

The act of terror, the fateful error
The pressing of a button
The squeezing of a trigger
That lets forth
All hell breaks loose
With power, that fateful hour
The gaping groaning horror
Of war.

Shock is nature’s anaesthetic
And in those precious moments
that follow the blast I feel nothing
No pain, no fear,
A strange sense of peace is here
A calm in the midst of war
I don’t feel anything anymore
Numb, numb, numb,
Like the beating of a drum
The pressure in my ears
The surfacing of my fears


Smoke slowly clears
Then the true horror of war appears
Invading my senses,
One by one, by one
no longer totally numb.

Torn paper flutters
Broken glass, broken shutters
Sights sounds, smells
The incessant ringing of bells
The acrid stench of the burning
Of my broken shattered world
These things brush at the surface
Ears eyes and nose unfurled
But the defences of my brain
Stop them from burrowing
Deeper into my mind and soul

That comes later
Once the immediate danger has passed
when those kind unknowing souls say
"You are one of the lucky ones
you will be fine look!
you have escaped without a scratch"
So they tell you.
Yes!
It is true, a survivor of
The bomb, the blast, the terror

But
I am are still there
Frozen in the moment
When the hands of the clock
Stopped
When my world stopped
Turning
Yearning
To move forward
Yet trapped in the moment
Peace and war
Will it be no more
One day
At
A time

That’s what they say
Take a day at a time
And maybe I will get through
To a place of peace
Piece by piece
Rebuilding
Shattered lives
And minds
And hearts
Take longer to heal
Than broken bones.

One day I pray
I will be whole again
Out of this hole
Where I have fallen
That as the world turns
I will begin to turn
Slowly at first
Baby steps
Reborn
Like the calm after the storm
But finding safe harbour
Is a little harder
Waking one day
And realising
The sun is shining
And I can feel it again
The gentle rain
And war is in the past
And peace is re establishing its place
By the depths of God’s Grace.

note
dedicated to those who live daily with the hidden after effects of war.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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This article has been read 823 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Kathy Stevens
07/14/11
Thank you for reminding us that peace is also a journey.
Nancy Sullivan 
07/15/11
Thanks for the powerful tribute to those who have survived the likes of 9/11 and the Murrah Building. You were so right to include those whose daily lives are affected by senseless killing. Great writing!
Brenda Rice
07/15/11
You are on topic for sure. The emotions of the poem are very real and gripping. Thanks for sharing.
Edmond Ng
07/21/11
An excellent piece and congratulations for placing second at your level. Time to move up a level!
diana kay
07/21/11
thanks Edward but i dont think one can move up until they hit FIRST place :-) I keep coming second but one day maybe...
Helen Carr
07/22/11
Diana, this is an amazing testament to all those who have survived war, or some act of 'terror' against them and their world. The trauma that people must go through, the questions the "lucky ones" must ask and try and find answers for, I don't think we have any idea unless we've been there.

I am so pleased that you achieved 2nd place (and I agree, I think so many 2nds surely must warrant you moving up! Your writing is so flexible, I've seen you write so many different ways, and each one is amazing!).
Juliette Chamberlain-Bond
07/23/11
This reads like a social commentary written in a stream of consciousness format.
There is powerful intensity to the words you use which adds impact and authority.
The almost casual rhyme scheme which you use also helps to reinforce your point, about the horror of any threatening situation.
Catrina Bradley
07/28/11
Your sense of rhythm and timing seems so natural. I was completely caught up in your poem.