POPPIES.

we saw poppies

in September ;

bloomed out of the neck

and into the dirt.

calloused hands

made bouquets

for fun

or for the funeral.

the saints

and the widows

sought no reprieve

in the ill-gotten garden.

and where you wore

your poppy

determined how you 

were treated.

some wept.

some sang.

others did

a little of both.

and in the midst of deciding

if it was destruction

or dialogue,

we saw more poppies

in January.

covering the hood

of beaten up car

with stuffed animals

in the front seat.

we barely had time

to decide what to do

with the poppies of yesterday.

and now we have poppies

to deal with today.

some will weave crowns,

and some will weave swords,

and some will weave sorrow,

and some will weave wars,

and some will say

the poppies are from

the same branch,

but don't you listen.

oh, don't you listen.

and when Freedom meets failure,

build your own bouquet

and make beauty

out of ashes.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and some might take swords to the crown...and as eight wars might be stopped, others are popping up in their place. More poppies will be needed because the freedoms of today are flowers wilting in the cold wind
finding their petals are ripping away in the insanity. Hard hitting piece.
j.

[Emunah June.]

I so appreciate the review on my poem, thank you for taking the time!!!

[Vol]

Emunah.
A lovely tribute, easily applied to any careful reader of poetry as therapy...
I guess poppies are about human failure, war and death especially, these days. It sounds like you lost two important loves, and have much to deal with. And nobody deals the same. Poppies bring out the best and worst in us all loss tends that way, but only a few can make beauty out of ashes...
Vol

[Emunah June.]

Vol,

Thank you!! This means alot to me. This poem in particular was meant to highlight how loss is being felt on both sides of the political spectrum -- Charlie Kirk in September, Renee Good in January. It was meant to highlight that no matter where you fall on your beliefs in policies, death is becoming the end result, and we as a species are becoming so hate filled at everything that we are doomed to see more flowers at funerals than weddings.

I pray one day people become less bigoted, less hateful, less angry, and start swapping out their fists with real flowers that can spread joy, not act as a reminder of lives having been lost.

I am so so thankful you enjoyed my work, that you took the time to review it, and I hope you know I look up to you!!

[Vol]

Emunah,
My fear is, this is different. The last time there were sustained protests, always peaceful, was in the sixties, Those protests were organic and grew from an unjust war created by politicians for politics and we saw through what the government was doing. These today are bought and paid for by nefarious outsiders, who hate America. In the sixties, we loved our country and hated our government the demonstrators today hate America, A recent poll says 83% of liberals hate what we are. The opposite is true among conservatives. As long as there are people willing to take those thirty pieces of silver, and someone is willing to pay it, we will be in jeopardy. Both academia and the press are complicit but know nothing of history which ALWAYS repeats, and ALWAYS puts those two groups first against the wall. I grew up in an age when intelligence was sought after and prized, today it is considered a kind of disability. In those days, EVERYONE wanted a Liberal Arts degree to be a Renaissance thinker with a wide range of interests and knowledge. This is how entire nations and cultures are lost... to be NEVER replaced by something better, with more freedom, more mutual respect, and the free exchange of ideas... Things must change and soon, or we are doomed.
Vol

[Emunah June.]

I cannot agree with you more, Vol. We are bringing ourselves to our own extinction.

[Vol]

Emunah
You are a natural poet... you make new connections between diverse thoughts and ideas you've got your words and syntax exactly right and a lovely eye for beauty... coupled with a desire to tell us about it... The world is a better place with you in it.
Vol
And they are talking "civil War" but the tiny disturbane inMinnesota would mean nothing without the news people there to mke it worse. Ther ought to be a law against rabble rousing on certain venues. Like the news... just the verifiable facts, with other venues for propaganda and lies. Who carees what they think? I don't, but I do care about accuracy.
Vol

[Curly Grace]

The imagery is stark and human, and the closing lines carry a soft, resilient hope.

[Emunah June.]

My prayer is that the human race will remember we should be carrying our neighbors rather than slaying them. I appreciate the sweet review!!

[Michael Sun Bear]

I am speechless! That’s my review.