Welcome to Volume 7 of Quickwords, my poetry series. It’s surprisingly hard to find free images of double-edged swords online, so after dedicating more time to searching than I actually did writing these poems, I just decided to draw it.
| The Pacifist |
| I want to win this war. I’ve fought for many months, had victories and defeats All to eventually realize that the only step I need take is to not fight at all. My sword has two edges My mind has too much energy When I swing at spectres that are not there, guided by words and thoughts taken secretly to heart My own blade cuts against me So I swing with more fury in what I believe is defense The only step I need take is to not fight at all. Most horrified I am at the notion To tell the anxious, reckless soldier that the gunshots he hears from the other side of the battlefield are merely the echoes of his own rifle To tell the panicked, thrashing child that the ferocity of the gaping sea the relentless storm of the tides is caused by nothing more than his own flailing To tell the frightened miner that the crumbling of the cavern the shaking of the earth, the splinter of the rock is a result of the very digging he has done to escape The only step I need take is to not fight at all. To drop my blade and accept that I am the creator of my own pain To kneel upon the ground and accept that I can finally heal I must forget muscle memory and unclench my fist. |
| Tipping Point |
| We flipped a coin and it landed on its edge It stood upright on a thin sliver of hope The novelty of improbability muffled the absence of decree and we forgot the decision that ever needed an answer Kick a coin and watch it roll Momentum will guide it on a single edge Roll, we will A decaying cycle to an unnecessarily binary decision |
