war (what is it good for).

Poetics: Why war?

tonight at the #dversepoetspub we are discussing WAR! . here are two of my anti war poems with the songs that inspired them.

War Lists!

Babies lying dead,
In burned out apartments,
Mother’s hearts rupturing,
In empty streets,
Soldiers pillaging,
Innocent lives.
NO.
Tyrannical dictators,
Demanding power,
Silencing opponents,
Voices with fear,
Belligerence and offensive,
Thinking.
NO.
Spreading Love and peace,  
Supporting our neighbours,
Encouraging lasting friendship,
Sharing our homes,
Teaching our children,
How-to live-in peace and harmony,
Coherence with each other, And our world,
YES

© 03/03/2022 rog leach



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxrLVldZtmg&pp=ygUWdGhlIGNyYW5iZXJyaWVzIHpvbWJpZQ%3D%3D

MODERN TEACHINGS.
War Negates War.
(Inspired by the anti war song Zombie by the cranberries)

*Another, mothers breaking,
* Heart is taking over.
(#) What are we Teaching with (#) war,
(#) greed destruction and death,
Who/what/when/why are we teaching,
Teaching our children.

(#) Defending weapon merchants with their guns,
Time after time after time,
(#) Selling out our children’s lives, Teaching them,
*with their tanks and their bombs and their bombs and their guns

(#) Ostracise the weapons dealers, the war mongers and the hawkers of death.
Stop teaching that guns are good, that guns are good.
Teach how to love not to hate, not to hate, not to hate.

(#) Why are we Teaching greed, time and again, time and again,
Following merchant gods of wars,
Gods of wasteful life.

Who are we fooling, not the children,
(#) not the mothers with their hearts breaking.



(#) killing the children, and their mothers and their brothers
Just to Feed the monetary rich, morally poor.

(#) Why oh Why are we?
(#) Ostracise the sellers of death and destruction.
Teach how to share love.

(#) Why are we Teaching wars death and destruction,
Who are we killing our children for?
Who are you dying for?
Not them not us.

(#) defending their violence with your guns and your bombs
and your children’s lives
Why are we?
*With their tanks, and their bombs, and their bombs, and their guns.
Thanks, Dolores, for your words to the world.

*(lines from the song zombie by the cranberries.)
*(Lyrics Written Dolores O’Rioden) 
(#) shenanigan stick thump 
© 29/01/2023 rog leach

workshop

Come one, come all,

Haiku, Senryu and Tanka.

Come one, come all,

Come hear this poets’ words.

Come one, come all,

Sonnet, limerick and acrostic.

Come one, come all,

Come feel what this poets squarks.

Come one, come all,

Learn how to Quadrille, and stanza in free verse.

Come one, come all,

Come find the poetry workshop,

At Sunnyside café and art fair.

Maybe even stay and catch,

Me share my words with the world.

Lunatic reworked

Meet the Bar by writing from a collective point of view

his all at #dverse i have reworked an old poem from 2018 that i wrote trying to imagine what it would be like to have a split personality with only two voices in head. the original version is a favourite at open mic nights and spoken word events when i read it.

LUNATIC 

The lunatic must die, the lunatic must die, 
	Friendly to me, myself and I,	 
Once was he, the other voice, 
In my mind he lived until his discharge, 
I heard nothing from him in a decade or two. 
Who awoke my inner demon, 
After he executed my childhood babysitter, 
Her bloody hands around my throat they found, 
We joined forces in one voice occasionally, 
Two decades behind bars we had bought ourselves. 

(Dramatic pause) 

Till my wedding night, absent was he. 
“How dare we marry her your me!” 
Green eyed with envy of my true love was he, 
This lunatic must depart this life of mine, 
We are no a collective no more. 
 My wife we did garrotte, on my wedding night, 
Our unborn offspring perishing with her. 
His giggles rumbling around our head. 

(Dramatic pause) 

My hearts blood on our hands when they died, 
Together for ever we will be, 
Off his rocker racing into my melancholy, 
 Went our inner lunatic, self 
Fatherhood not for him, not for me, not for us. 

(Dramatic pause) 

His lunacy matching mine, as he watches, 
My lunacy matching his collective complete, 
This world from these our blue eyes. 
I know the lunatic must die, 
He knows I must die, 
The lunatic must die with me, the lunatic must die, 
The collective must die, 
As we leap in front of the train on my wedding night, 
Joining the lunatic’s afterlife, 
Haunting all those who would be like me, myself and I. 
Haunting all those who would be like us, ourselves and we. 

© rog leach 2018, © 2nd draft 13/08/2022 rogleach., © dverse prompt edit 19/10/2023

Winged Message.

Quadrille #186 – Fold

hello all at #dversepoetspub hope you have not folded under the pressure of life.

Winged message.

Atop city’s highest tower, wind unfolds,
Taking folded paper planes out,
Out,
Out,
Over cityscape.

Apon each a hand written,
Poem of peace and love, spread,
Spread,
Spreading,
Over lost cityscape.

Folding peace and love
Back into lost souls’ heart,
Of Hearts,
Reviving peace. 

© 16/10/2023 rog leach

Chilli root soup

Poetics: Time for Soup!

Thanks Merrill for tonight’s tasty prompt @ #dversepoetspub. here are both my recipe for one of my favourite soups to have on cold days,. and a poem just for the prompt.

CHILLI ROOT SOUP

½ a large swede,

1 large sweet potato,

2 carrots,

1 medium Diced onion,

Veg stock cube, ,

1.5 litre boiling water,

½ teaspoon ground ginger,

1 clove garlic,

½ teaspoon turmeric,

Black pepper and chilli flakes to taste.

Peel and chop the veg to equal size chunks.

Add all ingredients to slow cooker.

Cook until tender.

Liquidise until smooth and serve or freeze.

Makes 4 very good portions.

Chilli root soup too.

Avoiding Chestnuts dropping,
BONK! BONK! BONK! On cycle helmet,
Fingers complain on cold handle bars,
Autumn chill setting inn,
Cold factory awaits me,
Hiding in misty valley.

Factory heating clonking,
CLONK, CLONK, CLONK, overhead,
Trying it’s best, Monday stammer
Splutter, stutter till lunch time,
Warm lunch awaits,
Hiding in steamy kitchen.

Kettle spewing steam,
PLONK, PLONK, PLONK into bowl,
Frozen soup chunks from flask,
Microwave busy warming,
Staff room waiting,
Me to sit and devour.

CHILLI ROOT SOUP.
© 10/10/2023 rog leach