General

I flip a few folios feverishly from the favourite one

I delve deep into the one full of know-how

I stare and stare at one without a dust cover

hoping it will enlighten me how to face this new adversary

I considered them friends all my life

friends, guides, mentors all

rushing to them as a child would to mother

turning to them for solace

to entertain me when boredom struck

and to advise me when I sought answers to esoteric questions

On rainy evenings they were by my side

on sun-soaked winter afternoons they sat with me

during late night waits they gave me company

My life was guided by them every step of the way

so when life threw a curve ball I rushed to them

but the truth is such a war has never been fought before

there is no handbook as a guide

the rules are…

“War is hell.  You can’t photograph a flying bullet, but you can capture genuine fear.”

The bomb has dropped
control slips from our grasp

We pray for a parachute
for someone to pull the cord

numbers escalate,
lives plummet

We offer encouragement
isolated voices faltering

moment of impact imminent
the implosion inevitable

impact reverberates
responsibility moot.

(For Reena’s Exploration Challenge:  the quotation, author unknown.  Image my own.)

 

 

During times of comfort,

No threshold to bear a slight discomfort,

Sight of a tiny roach,

Mighty strategy to destroy, would be the approach,

Times change,

Priorities arrange,

Strategies rearrange,

Never known inner strength surfaces,

Tenacity resurfaces,

Complacency goes for a toss,

Change, an order resolves,

A battered, nevertheless, better person evolves.

52 words.

Acknowledgement :- Thank you Reena Saxena for running the challenge at Reena’s Exploration Challenge # 128 . For rules please refer here. Thank you all for stopping by and reading.

Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy.

Corona virus common enemy
It has taken lots of lives this moment
Spreads like fire and so infectiously
Stay at home, wash your hands, no smoking
Defence against it and we stay focus
Attack its strategy to spread
Social distancing one way to defend
Avoid going out, eat your rice or bread
Keep calm, be kind, with others helpfully
Be patient, we’ll win this war hopefully

(c) ladyleemanila 2020

For: Reena’s Exploration Challenge #128

War is hell. You can’t photograph a flying bullet, but you can capture genuine fear.

This week I’m thinking about fear in the context of the world right now.

We are surrounded by so much hysteria, anxiety and confusion about what is happening and what is to come.

I listened to Ekhart Tolle the other day talking about fear and anxiety in terms of adversity.

Fear he suggests is what we sense is coming. In the present, the now, what we feel is anxiety about the present, and that manifests itself in fear of the unknown.

How then do we live in the present with so much gloom and doom descending on us?

One of the situations we are all facing is the stay at home request imposed by most governments.

For me, that is an easy one as I stay at home most of the time anyway. But when…

War is hell. You can’t photograph a flying bullet, but you can capture genuine fear.

When I read this, an image of a cat toying with a mouse comes to mind. Especially when there is a power imbalance, it is easy to instill genuine fear between the parties.

Who is it who said that it takes two to make war but only one to make peace? Does it take two to make war? What if you’re the cat and the mouse can’t escape? I’ve seen a video where a cat is stalking a mouse and the mouse turns and fights back. Is that a war?

War is hell, regardless of how many wage it. How many wage it will determine the scope of the hellishness.

Maybe one day we will be able to pinpoint the war gene in our double helices and declare war on war.

Today the real test…

Reena is the host of Reena’s Exploration Challenge

Reena’s Exploration Challenge #128
~*~*~*~*~

War

The struggle for supremacy

So futile and wasteful

Where the cost is not only human lives

But we pay it by sacrificing our humanity too

We shed the civilized veneer and its trappings

The label of animal is so unsuitable

As animals always fight for survival

Unlike them, we fight so that we can profit

But what is the use of money or power

As sooner or later we too shall die

Leaving empty-handed and alone

~*~*~*~*~

PROMPT #128

So, here we are with three quotes to drive your thoughts.

War is hell. You can’t photograph a flying bullet, but you can capture genuine fear.

Today the real test of power is not capacity to make war but capacity to prevent it.

Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s…