To vanquish all the demons of senseless aggression
The women left, with children on hips, for vacation
Without the men and older ones, corrupted too soon
In the middle of the night, they left without resignation.
It started with whispers under the heartbroken moon
Mothers left behind who wanted to hear a new tune
The song of “I’m sorry” for rape, murder, starvation
Made for a hollow dirge in the empty baby room.
Without any recourse than to cry and wail with rage
The women made a plan to change the history page
Eve’s disobedience might be original sin
But Cain killing Able spotlight the violent stage
Without testosterone, how/where would the anger begin?
It became clear that peace could never start from within
Add in voices loud with societal machismo
Can’t unlearn this behavior yet men had no chagrin
It took years to create the perfect utopia
Women agreed there was only one panacea
As much as it hurt to acknowledge the truth of it
Leave them behind, the only viable idea.
After kisses and climaxes for the lucky ones,
And tender tough love goodbyes for those who had older sons
The women vanishing in one night of defiance
Bringing babies, clothes, food, seeds, tools to create, no guns
When the world awoke, there was silence then confusion
There was crying and wailing and raging delusion
The accusations turned deadly with no end in sight
The world was burning, cleansing all those in collusion
And the women waited, teaching their children new ways
With emotional regulation, without fake praise
Listening, reflection, the basis for discussion
Decisions consensus, not perfect, a better phase.
Is separation the best course of action for now?
Or work hard together and put our backs to the plough?
I don’t know the answer or the moral of this tale
To change our world, what are we willing to disavow?
This is my first attempt at a rubaiyat – inspired by Frank Hubeny at dVerse call to action. Feedback is welcome and most appreciated!
The theme is in response to Patrick’s Pic and a Word Challenge #172 – Vanishing as well as Jamie Dedes’ Wednesday Writing Prompt. Jamie’s prompt this week deserved a lot of thought – it was hard (for me at least) to imagine what a world would be like without murder, torture, starvation. In writing this poem, I am NOT saying that all the bad in the world are due to men but statistically, most of the violence in the world are perpetuated by those with a Y chromosome.
I don’t think separation is the answer. As the saying goes, if you’re not part of the solution…however, sometimes I do just want to take a vacation from all the strife I hear about in the world. Yet, where would we go?
©️ iido 2019
I don’t know what to say. It’s so deep and full of truth. If you can run you must stay. It’s perfect for Jaimie’s prompt. xo
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Thank you, Jen! Jamie’s prompt this past week really stretched me. 💐
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a PSA! applause and more applause! tackling a sensitive subject with poetic finesse, the issues are given credit and power. your meter is neat and quick. i would probably read this again just to enjoy the phrases i love – “when the world awoke, demons of senseless aggression…and oh a few more. to enjoy the richness of your words. i know how much effort it goes into writing the rubaiyat and also the backstory – you outdo yourself here my friend. truly one of your deeper meaningful pieces. i just cant get over the phrases, i want to tuck them into a secret corner of my heart now!
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Gina!! Your words are filling my head and my heart – both are now expanded beyond belief! Yes, this one really stretched me. Thank you for your feedback! ❤️❤️
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Well done. This was a difficult prompt. By separation, I was referring to the separation of families as a weapon of war. I appreciate this especially: I just read a survey that women want peace and men want justice. Interesting. Hardwiring v. Tradition. :-). Stellar work as always. Considerable thought evident.
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Thank you, Jamie! Family separation as a weapon of war has been used so many times in the USA from the First People’s children being taken from their families and sent to schools to lose their heritage to the practice of separating African slave families and more recently to separating asylum seeking families at the Mexican border. With this writing, In this poem, I was thinking of using separation like one would separate a cancerous cell from its host. But after mulling it over some more, even these types of separations can be hurtful for the host. ☹️
It’s interesting about women wanting peace and men wanting justice. The image of justice with a blindfold always makes me think of the rigidity and black/white thinking that accompanies the quest for justice. Peace (for me) includes compromise, flexibility, able to see the grey and all sides of the situation. I don’t know if that is genetic or how we are socialized?
This prompt definitely brought about more questions to ponder!
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Nice lines describing the contrast: “Eve’s disobedience might be original sin
But Cain killing Able spotlight the violent stage”
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Thank you so much, Frank! That line is one of my favorites!
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not only beautiful verse but so deeply profound … mothers are the ones who can change their sons attitudes by the way they rear them but fathers should also set an example … ❤
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Yes – it takes a village! And kids should have both male and female role models – totally agree with you on that. I’m so glad my poem resonated with you!
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thank you!
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I give you a standing ovation Irma
(applauding here)…this is so profound…i am usually someone who say a lot but i am for sure lost with words here…
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Oh thank you!! The prompt was really thought provoking and the rubaiyat form fit it so well!
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Wow – this is heavy! It feels like a rap the way that you’ve structured the rhymes and found such a steady flow. At least, that’s how I heard it in my head – it could be a lost 2Pac track. You always find a new way to surprise me! 🙂
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Tupac dropped some sweet beats so thanks for the compliment! This form is really conducive to having that rhythm. Plus it’s a heavy topic…hope I continue to surprise you (in a good way!).
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One cannot unsee and disregard and separate from one half of the population. We need to work together. I find your poem sad, and a brave attempt.
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Yes, I ultimately don’t think separation is the answer. We all have to work together to fix the problems. It is a sad poem!
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Your poem is very thoughtful and pretty much asks the open questions that many have thought but not expressed. I enjoyed reading and thinking while reading 🙂
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Thank you! I’m glad it was thought provoking – the sign of a good poem! 💐
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You are welcome.
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Thought-provoking meditation on a difficult subject.(K)
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Yes – a difficult subject. Thank you for your comment!
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Such a good topic, and what a great idea to put it into a poetic classic poetic form like this.
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Thank you! This was a difficult topic but I think the form helped shape the discourse.
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