Small Shifts in Territorial Control—Free Verse

And you didn’t think

Of summer city windows

Overlooking the old roves of Ukraine

.

And you didn’t think

I had a particular opinion

Of open urban windows and city sounds

.

And you didn’t think

To ponder over the weight of the mind

In the hour-long sunrise

City silhouette of peach fire and cloud

.

And you didn’t think

To catching a bid on the Russian invasion

Before you saw words curling

At the edges of your mind

West side of central, void and stupid

***

A free verse poem has no set pattern for line or stanza length. Rhyme is not used, or it is used sparingly. The line length and the rhythm or the lines are dictated by the natural rhythm of speech or other concerns such as emphasis on a particular word, image, or idea.

In the News Today—Wea’ve Written Weekly

Must we live in this moment?

John Oliver is right about Subway.

Walmart removes Juneteenth ice cream.

The government hoards billions of pounds of cheese.

Monkeypox Marxism makes its move.

Ukrainian boxing champion killed on the front line.

Russian forces expand their assault.

Must we live in this moment?

***

I wrote this poem in response to the Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt on Skeptics Kaddish. This week’s prompt poem is “Letting Go” by Kerfe Roig. If you would like to read her poem or participate in the prompt, visit the post here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2022/05/25/w3-prompt-4-weave-written-weekly/

The Living Dead—Google Painting

The word ‘zombie’ is not used.

Shelling continues day and night

Most commonly magic like voodoo

And battling Russian forces are now

Carriers of radiation and mental disease.

The civilized world brought low

Revived by the act of a bokor.

.

That has been overshadowed.

What happened on day fifty-four,

That has been overshadowed.

The great energy has been overshadowed.

.

The word ‘zombie’ is not used.

The Eastern Ukraine offensive

Featured widely in Haitian rural folklore.

The Russian leader’s Initial aim

Unless your brain is damaged

Was to overrun two devices hidden

In their litter bins that were detonated.

.

That has been overshadowed.

What happened on day fifty-four,

That has been overshadowed.

The great energy has been overshadowed.

.

The word ‘zombie’ is not used.

Cameras captured life in the front lines.

Mythological undead corporeal revenant,

The lady left behind feeding her dogs.

A protest song by Irish alternative.

I have become desensitized to it.

Of course, we want to survive.

***

Google painting is a type of collaging that primarily uses internet search results and Google’s search prediction capabilities to generate quasi-random phrases. The technique helps jumpstart creativity with strange juxtapositions, broken syntax, and internet speak.