Pain, Death, Glory, and Love

I'm not providing examples. Everyone should know what the categories mean, if not, please don't submit. Cant wait to award a trophy! And oh yeah, it would be amazing if someone used all the categories in their poetry.

think of a bakelite ashtray, granited full
on the dark coffin cover, the death rug,
the second set of curtains on a stage's eyelid,
closed now on the cheerful pine wood
that looked empty unclothed.
every surface is given the same set-dressing
every table hovers above a corpse.

why do we gather here today
here like this, 6 to a body, 3 left and 3 right
like the roll of a loaded die?
for 24hrs i carried his killer in my pocket.
its some kind of epidemic i thought
then stubbed out my cigarette on the moon.

Ultimate Sacrifice (contains pain, death, glory, and love as a brother)

Your name popped up on my news feed today
When I saw the three letters next to it, I couldn't quite find any words to say.
An Army soldier fighting in Afghanistan, dead at the age of twenty-one
You left behind a lot of sad people, including your wife and six month old son.
I know in our work, death can occur at anytime, and anywhere
But that doesn't mean that it's easier to deal with, or that I think it's fair.
I've dealt with death all my life, but military deaths hurt me more
For we share a unique bond, whether Air Force, Army, Navy, or Marine Corps.
The color of our camo was different, but we both swore the same oath
You were my friend and a military brother, and now I've lost you as both.
But you died honorably by giving the ultimate sacrifice in the war that you fought
You're guarding Heaven's gates now; if you can, be a pal and try to save me a spot.
You have fulfilled your duty here, so go now, and say hi to my sister and your mother
We have the watch now...may you forever Rest in Peace brother.

Because of Me (contains pain, death, and love)

The guilt and regret won't leave my mind as I enter this church for you
All our memories keep swirling through my brain as I sit here on this wooden pew.
I can't bring myself to talk about you; when asked I say I have just one sister
For the pain I feel when I think of you burns within me like a thousand boiling blisters.
I wish I could still say I had two sisters, that I wasn't always the family's "baby"
If only I had been braver and stronger back then, maybe, just maybe,
You, baby sister, would still be here, and I never would've had to say goodbye
But instead I'm at your funeral, and I know it's my fault you're here...I'm the one who let you die.
As your small casket passes by, I can't stop the quivering sobs, or the stream of tears
And my mind forces me again and again to relive that day, like a never ending nightmare.
You were five at the time, and I had just turned eight
We'd been through many foster homes, some halfway decent, others not so great.
But this house was worse than the others; the people were crueler, the beatings more severe
I should've done something in the beginning, maybe begged our workers to take us far away from here.
Yet I did nothing, but instead tried to prepare you for the agonizing days to come
I told you to expect more empty stomachs, and beatings that would leave us numb.
For though I knew this house was worse, I thought we'd survive the same way
We'd listen to the yelling, endure the pain, and hope that tomorrow would be a better day.
Until the day came where our foster father decided to prove me oh so wrong
The day he beat you just a little too much, for just a little too long.
You had tried to take some food from the pantry, for the stomach pains were finally too much to bear
But you were caught by him, and he didn't listen to your pleading or begging, for he simply didn't care.
I thought it was just another beating, and so I stood waiting in the shadows in the hall
I didn't want to make it worse, or get beat myself, so I watched even as he threw you against the wall.
Over and over he beat you with with his fists, and with his belt
And still I waited, praying he'd stop soon, so I could attend to your bruises and your welts.
But he was not himself, but high off of one of the many drugs he had in his secret room
And as the minutes dragged by, I began to feel overwhelmed by a sense of doom.
When his hand reached for the wooden bat his son used for baseball, my heart stopped
I screamed at him, but still watched helplessly as the bat quickly dropped.
I can still hear it in my ears, the crack of the bat as it smashed against your head
I can still see it with my eyes, the sight of your blood splattering against the wall, painting it dark red.
As others saw what had happened and dragged him away, I ran to you, but no matter how hard I tried
I couldn't wake you up, and finally had to admit, that my little sister had just died.
And so here I am, weeks later, staring at your lifeless body, wishing that I could once again see those beautiful blue eyes
Unable to block out all the sorrow and pain, while wondering over and over why.
Why did I do nothing to save you, why did I give in to my fear
This regret is something I know I'll have to live with for the many upcoming years.
With tear filled eyes and a broken heart, I tell you I'm sorry, give you one last kiss, and slowly walk away
Praying that perhaps I'll be forgiven, so that I may see you again in Heaven one day.

cjmshadow said:Ultimate Sacrifice (contains pain, death, glory, and love as a brother)

Your name popped up on my news feed today
When I saw the three letters next to it, I couldn't quite find any words to say.
An Army soldier fighting in Afghanistan, dead at the age of twenty-one
You left behind a lot of sad people, including your wife and six month old son.
I know in our work, death can occur at anytime, and anywhere
But that doesn't mean that it's easier to deal with, or that I think it's fair.
I've dealt with death all my life, but military deaths hurt me more
For we share a unique bond, whether Air Force, Army, Navy, or Marine Corps.
The color of our camo was different, but we both swore the same oath
You were my friend and a military brother, and now I've lost you as both.
But you died honorably by giving the ultimate sacrifice in the war that you fought
You're guarding Heaven's gates now; if you can, be a pal and try to save me a spot.
You have fulfilled your duty here, so go now, and say hi to my sister and your mother
We have the watch now...may you forever Rest in Peace brother.

Very touching...

Thank you very much Avenging Angel. Wrote that a few months back about my friend.

Oh, well my condolences, he sounds like he was a great guy.

Thank you. He was indeed.

That poem might be one of the winners

My Downfall

Here I am all alone,
Wondering where you've gone.
You just quit.
I thought you were it,
The one I'd spend forever with,
But everything you said was a myth.
I was serious about everything I said.
No matter what I do, I can't get you out of my head.
I've never felt a connection like this.
Baby, you were my princess,
But everything you said was a lie.
I just want to know why
You had to lead me on like that.
Now I just want to make my brain go splat
All over my bedroom wall.
I never thought you'd be my downfall,
But it looks like I was wrong once again,
So I guess this is my end.

Reanimate The Dead

Where were we when you quit the sound?
Caught in distance while you hung around
Encased inside of our own menial pursuit  
Flaunting desperation as a constant survival
As you battled death in your combat boots
There is no glory with fate as your rival

What were you seeing in your distorted mind?
As you ate your last words and ecstatically dined
At the chemical festival of illusions' absorption
How far did your gaze stroll onto the other side?
did you meet with an end or the start of damnation?
In which lonely drawer do your dreams now reside?

Where have the remnants of life made their grave?
Are they in the lingering regret that you've paved?
Through each flash of your face and casket sight
The delusional rebirth of your presence revealing;
Fragments of ended realities giving spark to night
Burning sigils into visions of a broken feeling

Flame lit sketches etched across a charred eulogy
Only a name remains lying in the wake of a memory
Pieces scattered amongst an unfitting resting place
Conflicting beauties molding a divine contrast
A devil laid to rest in the midst of holy space
One shade of diversity on a bland earthly cast

Echoes of descension from this dimming black sky
Adorning each reflection with your hollow eyes
Complexions left searching for an answer to hold
As to how lifes' vigor can so swiftly fall to decay
And,The aging of dignity resembling every tale told
Seems to shine a reality check on this tragic play

A nulling backdrop for this cemetery playground
Where the kings and queens become tediously crowned
With a sickly ailment that reaks of dilapidation
The stench of the end atop an eternal retrospect
Glaring back with the most sincere of validations
That the fallen live on as our recollections resurrect

Once a Whore, Always a Whore



You were happy to have completed
your first tour of duty
Went with me to our favorite bar
where you fell in love at first sight
to a girl doing sexy pole dancing.

Never wasted precious moments
took her home and got married
before your next call of duty.
I tried to persuade you -
that's a bad thing to do,
but you're deeply blinded
and went on your way.

Duty calls and you have to leave
your beloved beautiful wife
You're inspired, yet lonely
living on borrowed time...
Shadows of doubt begin
eating your heart out,
as you feel the pain of separation.

Moonlit nights passed swiftly
until one unfortunate day;
Your troop was trapped in a shit hole!
Everbody fought gallantly,
and  perished except you.

You came home a hero--
Guts and glory you have,
but without a dick
you're good as dead!
What was so painful -
your wife was having another dick
in your own bedroom, oh shit...

Your whole world turned upside down,
before you knew it, they were both dead!
The woman you pulled out of the mud
turned your LOVE into a quicksand...
You were trapped and helpless,
tears of joy and sorrow mix
with the blood of sinners.
Mixed emotions feed your enraged brain,
but before you shot yourself
you left me a short message:
You were right my friend,
Once a whore, always a whore!



Disclaimer: The author wishes to convey that this is fictional and any similarity to actual events is just a coincidence and acknowledges that not everyone who does pole dancing is a WHORE. /EngrVV