war

Six Sentence Story — Gettysburg

Fandango19 Comments

Written for the Sunday Six Sentence Story prompt from Girlie on the Edge, where the prompt word is “charge.”

The order came down the line like a cold wind: “Fix bayonets!” and hundreds of steel blades flashed as they locked onto rifle barrels.

I swallowed hard and stared across the field at the gray ranks of Confederates standing beneath a haze of powder smoke, looking no different from farmers except for the rifles in their hands.

My fingers trembled against the walnut stock of my Springfield, and I wondered whether the boy facing me had a mother praying for him at that very moment, as I am sure mine was for me.

I tried to swallow, but my throat was dust, and all I could think of was how the earth smelled — damp, torn, and waiting.

When the command to charge finally came, I lurched forward with the rest of the line, my fear swept away by the thunder of boots, rebel muskets, and a thousand men yelling as one.

Years later, as one who survived those terrible days, I could remember every detail except the battle itself, for terror has a way of stealing memories even as it makes them.

Painting courtesy of the American Battlefield Trust.

Weekend Writing Prompt — War

Fandango16 Comments

My father told me that the war in Korea was a quagmire.

Those who opposed the war in Vietnam called it a quagmire.

American troops fought in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years in yet another quagmire.

When we used “Shock and Awe” against Saddam Hussein in Iraq, many warned it would be a quagmire.

When is going to war ever not a quagmire?

(Exactly 63 words)

Written for Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt, where the challenge is “quagmire” in exactly 63 words.

Four Line Fiction — The Casualties of War

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The despots or the generals who decide to make war
Are not the ones who pay the price for that decision
It’s the innocents who are the casualties who pay the price
It’s the innocents who lose the battle no matter who wins the war.

Written for Greg’s Four Line Fiction prompt. Photo credit: Ali Jadallah / Anadolu / Getty Images.

Sunday Poser — What, Me Worry?

Fandango6 Comments

For today’s Sunday Poser, Sadje wants to know…

Are you worried about your future, personally, or about your country? What saddens or worries you about the future?

I’m not worried about my personal future because there’s simply not that much of it left. What will be will be, as they say. The only “concern” I have is which will go first, my mind or my body.

On the broader scale, however, I am very worried. I am worried that many, if not most, Republicans still support Donald Trump. He is the man who tried to overthrow an election by inciting a siege of the U.S. Capitol Building, and who has been charged with 91 felonies in four criminal cases this past year, has continued to tell The Big Lie, along with thousands of little ones, was twice impeached as president, and has literally pledged turn America into an autocracy. And Republicans have made it clear that despite Trump being considered the worst president in the history of the United States, he is their man. They don’t judge Trump, they love him.

If Trump doesn’t either get convicted and sent to jail or die between now and November 5th, I don’t see how he loses to Biden again. And then it’s all over but the shouting for democracy in America.

And on top of that, we are still doing little to address climate change. We are still in states of war for territorial gains, religious purposes, or both. Or to satisfy the egotistical, narcissistic needs of the men in charge. In the U.S. we are on the precipice of a civil war based upon political ideologies, racism, and nationalism.

Honestly, I think we are going to continue in this downward spiral until we either destroy one another and/or destroy the planet.

But it’s not for myself that I worry about these matter. I’ll likely be dead before all the shit hits the fan. But I feel bad for my young grandchildren. What kind of world will we leave them with?

Song Lyric Sunday — War and Peace

Fandango29 Comments

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams has asked us to find a song that is about war and/or peace suggested, once again, by Nancy, aka The Sicilian Storyteller. The song I’m going with this week is “Us and Them” by Pink Floyd.

“Us and Them” is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, from their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. The music was written by Richard Wright and Roger Waters with lyrics also by Waters. It is sung by David Gilmour, with harmonies by Wright. The song, at over seven minutes, is the longest on the album. It peaked at number 72 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart in March 1974.

The lyrics describe the senseless nature of war and the ignorance of modern-day humans who have been taken over by consumerism and materialism. In an interview, Waters shared the significance of each verse.

He said that the first verse is about going to war, how on the front line we don’t get much chance to communicate with one another, because someone else has decided that we shouldn’t. The second verse is about civil liberties, racism and color prejudice. The last verse is about passing a tramp in the street and not helping.

Here are the lyrics to “Us and Them.”

Us (us, us, us, us) and them (them, them, them, them)
And after all we're only ordinary men
Me
And you (you, you, you)
God only knows
It's not what we would choose (choose, choose) to do (to do, to do)
Forward he cried from the rear
And the front rank died
And the general sat
And the lines on the map
Moved from side to side
Black (black, black, black)
And blue (blue, blue)
And who knows which is which and who is who
Up (up, up, up, up)
And down (down, down, down, down)
And in the end it's only round 'n round (round, round, round)
Haven't you heard it's a battle of words
The poster bearer cried
"Listen son", said the man with the gun
There's room for you inside

"I mean, they're not gonna kill ya
So if you give 'em a quick short, sharp, shock
They won't do it again. Dig it?
I mean he get off lightly, 'cause I would've given him a thrashing
I only hit him once! It was only a difference of opinion, but really
I mean good manners don't cost nothing do they, eh?"

Down (down, down, down, down)
And out (out, out, out, out)
It can't be helped that there's a lot of it about
With (with, with, with), without
And who'll deny it's what the fighting's all about?
Out of the way
It's a busy day
I've got things on my mind
For the want of the price
Of tea and a slice
The old man died

WDYS — They Lied

Fandango13 Comments

They said that they were targeting only military installation. They indicated that they were not going to bomb civilian targets like schools, hospitals, retail shopping areas, or civilian housing. That’s what they said when they started this war.

Three days ago, a high-rise apartment building with retail stores on the street level was bombed. I was a half block away with my two young children when the bombs fell. My babies were just finishing their breakfasts when the deafening sounds of explosions rocked the area. The ground shook, windows in our apartment shattered, shards of glass flying everywhere.

I pulled my babies down onto the floor and laid down on top of them, hoping to protect them from whatever might be coming next. My babies were crying because they were scared. I was crying because I thought we were going to perish that morning.

Another bomb, more explosions. The sky orange from the fires that broke out. The smell of smoke in the air. The awful sounds of buildings collapsing and the cries of human agony.

That was three days ago. My girls and I didn’t perish. Our building didn’t take a direct hit. But several buildings on our block did. The search and rescue operations continue, but I’ve heard that hundreds of innocent men, women, and children were killed. I’m afraid. My babies are afraid. I don’t know what to do.

They said that they were targeting only military installation. They indicated that they were not going to bomb civilian targets like schools, hospitals, retail shopping areas, or civilian housing. That’s what they said when they started this war.

They lied.

Written for Sadje’s What Do You See prompt. Photo credit: Joshua Kettle @ Unsplash.

Five Word Weekly Prompt — The Gateway

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James had a revelation, an epiphany of sorts, when he realized that he was in sight of what appeared to be a gateway, on the other side of which he hoped would be his freedom.

There were still bombs bursting behind him, but if he could make it through the gate, this horror in which he had been living through lo these many years might finally be ended for him.

With every ounce of strength he had left in his body, he made a mad dash toward the gateway and as he arrived, he got a glimpse of what surely was a heaven on Earth before him.

The bomb exploded as he was about to step though the gateway, sending shrapnel flying in all directions, including into his body. As the light left his eyes and the life drained from his body, he knew he’d fallen short of heaven, but at least his personal apocalypse would finally be over.

Written for Greg’s Five Word Weekly Challenge, where the words are freedom, gateway, shrapnel, apocalypse, and revelation. Image credit: Bing image Creator.

MLMM Friday Faithfuls — War and Peace

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For Jim Adams’ Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Friday Faithfuls, Jim has pointed out that today was International Peace & Love Day and he’s asked us to respond by writing anything about peace or love, or to go with whatever else that we think fits.

Photo credit: Catherine Leroy.

I’m going to focus on peace because I am not sure that humans are wired for peace. If I believed in God, I would say that he either forgot to give us the peace gene or he intentionally, for his own amusement, withheld it before releasing us on the world.

Humans possess diverse interests, beliefs, and desires, which can often lead to disagreements and clashes. The natural human tendency to engage in conflicts and wars can be attributed to a combination of complex factors, such as competition, fear, misunderstandings, and the tendency to prioritize self-interests over the common good. Wars have been waged throughout recorded history for various reasons, such as competition over resources, ideological differences, historical grievances, power struggles, territorial disputes, or ethnic and religious tensions.

There have been Hundred Years wars, Six Days wars, revolutionary wars, civil wars, regional wars, World Wars, local wars. Has there ever been a time in human history when, somewhere in the world, there hasn’t been a war being conducted between countries, religions, ideologies, power, or influence?

The answer is no, there has not been. And that is because of human nature. And as Edwin Starr sang, “War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!”

#WDYS — The Fire

Fandango8 Comments

Malcolm picked up the newspaper and started reading the headlines. As usual, all that jumped out at him was bad. War overseas, Gun violence at home, severe weather due to climate change, homelessness, income disparity, racial unrest.

Malcolm’s eyes welled up. What was happening to his country, to his world? Suddenly the newspaper burst into flames. “Hey, I didn’t start the fire,” Malcolm said, as he dropped the burning paper to the ground.

Written for Sadje’s What Do You See prompt. Photo credit: The Ian @ Unsplash.