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Have you ever heard a hyena’s howl, in a dismal darkness at night ?
A sound of depraved evilness, that brings forth apprehensive fright .
Which causes hairs to bristle stiff, standing upright upon your neck,
And solid shudders terrorise your brain, with a constant steady peck.
Have you ever heard rifle shots around you and approaching near ?
The staccato beat of machine guns, causing horror and rampant fear.
Or the whistling of artillery rounds, as they fly screeching overhead,
Involuntary screams people howl, at the moment they’re shot dead.
Have you ever felt the concussion,? from a near bursting mortar round
Or the shattering stunning shock, while underfoot the shaking ground.
As battle rages around your home and your stomach gets even sicker.
The reeking stench of cordite while the lights begin to fail and flicker.
These dreadful scenes are a few of the horrors a soldier sees in war,
Events they’ve been prepared to face and effectively been trained for.
But many children of this world face the same things at their front door.
Just innocent slaughter as they are maimed and killed off by the score.
The desperate look of your parents, as they hold you in tight embrace.?
Tears that flow as they look at you streaming down each other’s face.
Their look of helpless apprehension, for “refuge” exists not as a place.
Pleading urgently to God to save them as they pray hopefully in grace.
Have you ever seen the dismal damage a rifle bullet does to solid stone?
Or what the wide spread shattering result is when hitting a child’s bone ?
How flesh and blood can’t stand alone when the seeds of war are sewn.
Against lethal weapons that kill easily, as our history has always shown.
The horrifying howl of the hyena is a shrill piercing chilling mournful cry,
Echoed by leaders and the populace in all countries as many years go by.
For no one is ever guilty and always the other’s fault they callously sigh,
And it just keeps on horribly happening and never I will understand why.
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Author notes
Written July 16th, 2006
In a list
A contest entry
- What makes you passionate? by TabbyCat.
900 points, ended March 24, 2008, 30 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 51 of 51
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some wonderful imagery here.
I liked how you used words that appealed to all of my senses. It kept me interested in this poem from beginning to end...even though it was quite long. It will be a great blessing when the Lord returns and we no longer have to deal with war...death...pain. Thank you for this heartfelt entry. -
Excellent; you did a great job of describing what war really does to real people, to the innocents. Thanks for your entry.
By the way, I am now the judge for this contest; my brother's been sick for a lil while and he just asked me to judge this. I'm hoping to get it judged today. Thanks for your entry and your patience. -
Bravo!!!!!!!!!!! this did make me sad AND stare in wonder, My favorite part is the 2nd stanza. I love this soo much, Thank you ever so much for entering and good luck
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wow, this was very good!! i really liked the rhyme and rhythem this worked well, also the imagery was so powerful i felt like i was there. a really good write,
thank you for entering =] -
Wow. Simple Moving and Wonderful. You showed how war affects us, and the fact that its not only happening somewhere else, but in our own backyard. People murdering other people. Horrible to think about how many lives have been lost to the gun. Intense write! Thanks for entering my contest and Good Luck!
-Jennifer Lyn -
ShannonsGirl24 I apologise for not thanking you for your applause and am very appreciative of the fact you spent ome of your hard earned points applauding.
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Tainted Innocence. I thank you for your kind words and appreciate them very much and am humbled that you used yourhard earned points to applause as well. Keep the kids in mind for they only have one attempt at being here. It is so sad that earth is becoming a short stopover for children on their way to Heaven.
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The Black Iris Thank you for such a powerful comment and I am so glad that you understood my message. I hope you also like some of my other work on this site.
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This is an incredible piece of work you have written here! The imagery is fantastic...in a poetic sense...but also horrid, when the reader thinks of it really happening. You've really done great as you raise awareness with your words. That is truly a great feat. And I commend you for it. Keep writing!
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The imagery in this is incredible, it is almost a story but writen in poetry. Fantastic it just hits harder wither every word but takes the subject sensitively at the same time. great write.
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WONDERFUL POEM
The imagery in this poem is very powerful. You bring the terrors of war on the innocent to life with your amazing words. You are a wonderful storyteller with your poems. The rhyme is excellent as always. Simply Magnificent my friend. A pleasure as always, to read this morning. I feel so much better today.
Hugs and Smiles for a wonderful friend who is always there for me. God Bless you. Love ,Sandy 
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Ladybug, I owe you an apology but I forgot to thank you for giving me some of your hard earned points by applauding. Thank you and I am glad you acknoledged my intentions in writing such a gahstly poem that should never need to be written, but makes me sad I did.
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Thank you Ladybug for taking the time to comment. It is strange how many people mentioned other problems without staying focussed on the ones this was written about. The poor children who experience horrors we cannot envisage in our worst dreams.
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this says volumes for the veterans and the kids that live in the war(s) of today and yesterday.
thank you for your entry and your heartfelt write
Tamara
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If you read the comments you will see where I have apologised to the hyena and the reasons are also given above. It is also impossible to cover every possible scenario of abuse in the human race. This particular poem's focus is purely on kids and families living in areas that have become war zones and nothing else. It would take a lifetime to cover them all but maybe I will do one on fat bellies and starving kids. Fathers that treat their daughters as you mention are dramatically terrible too and there is too much of it but you won't die from it. Have you ever looked up at a rifle held in your face with a twitchy finger on the trigger wondering if your head is going to be blown off ?? or cut in half by a machine gun. I picked the worst scenario and will work down but this will take the rest of my life if I cover them all.
There are also some wonderful and beautiful things around us that we should enjoy too so if they are mixed into the pot of life then it will sweeten, but it is best to throw away the bad and learn from the mistakes and then adore the good that is left. Seems you have had it tough too and I hope these words comfort you. There are many more positive messages amongst the poems I have already posted on this site. Most you will love, especially the romance and fantasy ones.Thanks again for being so interested in such a subject and voicing your opinions. Great stuff love. Barry -
lovely
I the Hyena part doesn't really make much since to me, unless in fact you are trying to say that humans are in a sense like hyena's, but even then i am still not sure because although hyenas cry well howl for help and a place to stay, a lot of humans cant even do that. What about the babys who cant say word yet still might need help yet most of the time it goes over looks. The human race is not the greatest, everyone gets treated like shit by everyone even fathers will treat there own daughters like shit just because the daughter looks like her mother who walked out and left her family years ago. It seems so cruel yet it happens almost daily.Sometimes it seems like animals such as hyenas have it better off than us, but thats just the way i see it. Over all this was a really great poem and i will be sure to tell others about it. Good job, keep up the great work! -
Thanks dear Joan for your comments and applause. It is a pity the kids get it so ahrd and how little they experence of the world during their pathetic existence here.
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According to my research it does both. Thanks for the comments and applause. glad you enjoyed it . Oh it was some simple shock treatment t make people think instead of forgetting what is served up to them. Poor kids cop too much.
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Dear Barry, very thought provoking poem, it's always the little children who suffer. We think we have it tough sometimes, but it's nothing compared to what happens around the world. Thank you for sharing this with us Barry.
Hugs Joan
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this is great writing and says much....
this is a story within poetry or is it poetry within a story....i dont know......
i ask does not a hynena laugh than howl....i always thought heynans were known as for laughing than howling... maybe that is the kid in me... -
SnugglyBanana Thank you for taking the time to comment which is much appreciated. All I can say is that you won't forget it in a hurry . It is unfair to use the hyena as a comparison (as one lady pointed out above) but their howl and generally believed habits and traits are normally despised by us mortals. The poem would have lost its punch if I compared it with anything less.
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No I have never heard the howl of the hyena, but... I know that you have presented your poem in a brilliant way and a very original way. Great write.
Snug x -
GREED it is dear scarlet. My Dad could not ever go to sleep once he had been woken up until he had found out the reason for whatever woke him. Old habits die hard .He was on the famous Kokoda trail in New Guinea and rarely ever talked about the war. But poor kids with that all around you !!! how do they ever cope with that ?? I toned it down a lot but tried to give it a little bit of punch so as to make people think .. and think.. Thanks for the comments and the applause
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This is an amazing write for I have no idea as to what it is really like to have to live this way. I often think about what it would be like to have everything you worked for all your life stripped from your life. The fears that I have now would be minimal compared to the life of a war zone. I have spoken recently to an ex-soldier who has endured the sights of war. Although he seems normal on the outside, is working a well paid job, he wakes up all through the night not able to sleep. He gets up at 3 am goes out jogging waking all the neighbors dogs for he cannot sleep well. He takes anti-depressants and other calming drugs but still cannot sleep. The sights of war have never left his mind and have marred his ability to function as he did previously. It seems greed is the true root of war, whether it be greed for oil, or greed for power.
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very deep strong piece thank-you for sharing
Tracey
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Afrodisia Thanks for commenting and applausing as well. Some of the kids in this world really cop it hard, and that is why I am trying to get people in our "civilised" world to understand that they don't really have it tough at all and have to see first hand what "tough" really is.
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Sabindi Thank you for taking the time to comment and pass on your suggestions. I am aware that no animal on earth is as depraved as the human species but I had to compare with something and so the poor old jackall copped it mainly because they are percieved to be something like I made them out to be. Without doing this I had no real wedge or IMPACT and also wanted to compare them with the politicians etc that I mentioned, and after all they stealth around after leftovers etc and use others to do their dirty work (kill). Anyway, if I offend the hyenas and help but one child I will be happy. Thanks again for your input, it only points out just how more wicked humans can be.
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Excellently penned
Hi dear friend and what a really gut renching poem this one is. Gets right to the heart of the evilness, dispair and total waste that war brings to the earth. War is the product of greed, power hungry politicians and is such a total waste of time and energy, leaving people destitude, starving and dying from disease. I so abhor war. As for the manical laughter of hyena's, hmm well , yes thought the sounds the make can be rather chilling, I feel that one can never compare anything in nature, to the evil that mankind brings upon this planet. I have been out in the African bush at night and heard hyena's and have been totally entranced and mesmerized, because they are so one with nature, as are all other living things. Lotsa love, hugs and blessings. Marilyn -
IMPRESSIVE!!!
This is a poem that reveals to all the gory tales of war.War is an ill wind that blows no good;rather it brings with it death and calamity.
Thank you so much sir for lending your voice to the campaign for peace in our world. -
Shaz, thank you for your comment and showering me with applause. I see the beautiful things in this world and try to overlook the bad, but when I see that children take the brunt of the bad things it leaves me sad and questioning why. Many don't even make it to their teens and so they miss so much life and yet in the time they are here have very little either.Someone was wingeing the other day because she had it "tough" ... not much money to live on and I just said "do you know how many thousand children will die today because they have nothing at all? no food, dirty water, no where to live, no parents, a war is waging around them, and so many more of the horrible things that happen to them.
The beautiful things in life are wonderful but the bad things like this are incomprehinsible. Why does God allow it ??? -
hi dearest daddy
This is a sad story that war destroys many lives. Wish there was a way that all could live together in peace, but I don't know, peopel always find a reason for starting the war!
Love you
Shahrzad
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Bazza, this write is powerful, and it gives the reader a lot to think about... it sure gave me some thinking. Well done, Bazza, well done.
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Bazza;
I share your compassion and pain for the children. I am saddened and maddened by the sacrifice of innocents. I get angry when I think of the horses that pulled battle chariots. I am sickened by the slaughter of calvalry horses. I pale at the aniahilation of millions of unsuspecting and unassuming men, women and children struck down through the ages for exactly your acknowlegement...GREED! AVIRICE!... the need of possessions. Dear friend... I wish I had an answer to your question. All I really have is my prayer to my God. -
wtchr mate your words reflect what I have said so many times on this poem in my replies .... GREED that's our curse ... bloody greed !! Thanks again.
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wtchr thanks for the very detaile dcomments which are really appreciated and I garee with them, but the question remains unaltered ... why do the innocent kids cop so much ??Just wars may be possible and there is the need to defend one's country but we also have to be careful and not blaming our ideal as "Freedom", but having said all that, why the kids ?? mate they really don't get much of a chance at life do they ?? It is also sad that the attitude is taken that it was someone else's poor kid who got the short straw. Thanks a million mate for your valued comments.
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Thanks LanceRyanWilliams for your perceptive comments . We are in many wars, all caused by greed even the starving would not be so if we shared our wealth a bit more and stopped wanting more .. more .. and more .. it is called greed.
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thelordreigns Thank you for taking the time and effort to comment and I agree with you that there are many wars taking place especially hunger and the many otrher afflictions our society has because of greed.
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lostindarkness87 Thanks for commenting and war id the curse of mankind but it is always caused by mankind and if one checks further it s because of greed. Greed for money, power, something someone else has, greed is our biggeest killer.
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Well, I was wondering where you disappeared to. Thanks for the comments and agree completely with your opinions , but why are the kids the ones that cop it ?? Thanks a million.
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Dear Bazza;
The reasons for war are many. They have been started over a woman, land, riches of gems, gold and most recently oil. As long as there are humans and desire for possessions, there will be war. It will be justified (by the participants) by stating great needs, or as a statement of defense from an oppressor. Pain and suffering will have little effect on the implementation as those in power seldom see the horrendous wages of war spoken of in your poem. Are there just causes for war? Yes. Are wars always just by some standard. No. Will there continue to be wars, both just and unjust? Definately. -
Hellooooo there. This is an awsome poem, the horror caught me in the war zome although many American comes a horrible war zone of Sorts. Without god you cannot help yourself, power is impossible to resist, as you are powerfull to defend. This idea of war never appealed to me and this poem really shows that there can be a lot of things different about war, if you life war though, I got a lot of morality poems to help along if you are ever in one. And I got a story about it, look around it if you have time, good job on your poem dude, and have a nice day. - Lance Ryan Williams: To be forgotten is worse then death.
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I cannot begin to imagine the horror of a child caught in a war zone although many American homes become a horrible war zone of sorts. Without God, this horror is unbearable and relentless. This is a powerful and excellent piece. Thanks so much for your kind comment on my poem. I hope to read more of your work. - joanne
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This poem is very well written and descriptive....I like how you describe the effect of a gun on the whole society instead of just one person....it makes the whole idea seem more real and closer to home...the idea of war never appealed to me and this poem shows exactly why that is..
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This piece was so full of meaning! It is horrible that people must hear these horrible gunshots outside their doors, and how war must go on right outside the houses of many. I would rather have the hyena howling at night...though they don't come around here. I liked your rhyming and how you packed this piece with a punch. Well, this is xXShakariXx/ask261. I hope that the picture of war fades into one of love, laughter, and the pursuit of happiness. Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing!
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thank you rooibos Thank you for reading my work and taking the time to comment. This is one of my "picture poems" that are designed to bring my picture into your mind as closely as i saw it. Glad you liked it and hope you have time to browse more on my site. thnak you also for not only taking the time to comment but for your welcome applause too, Thanks a million, much appreciated.
Edited on Jul 16, 7:41 p.m. because ''. -
Dear Earl or is it Ellis ?? Thank you for your kind commenst and applause and notes on the tragic subject. Great mate, Thanks for the support.
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Ravenrae Thank you for reading my work and taking the time to comment. This is one of my "picture poems" that are designed to bring my picture into your mind as closely as I saw it. Glad you liked it and hope you have time to browse more on my site.
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A UNIVERSAL QUESTION, INDEED!
As long as someones making money off of another's death or pain or sorrow these selfish businessmen, drug dealers, politicians, and so called leaders could care less how many poor people die - as long as it doesn;t happen to one of them or someone in their family! Their have been a number of drug and gang related drive by shootings in my city which keeps growing every year! Just a few months, ago - a gang members mother was murdered in her home - which is a sad, sad situation, indeed - and there has been gunfire in playgrounds where the children play, too! It is a feeling of HELPLESS HOPELESSNESS that innocent people feel under these conditions - in a city - as in a country - that has to deal with gunfire, death, violence, and war! A very fine and thought provoking piece, my friend - of sad, sad times, indeed!
Love & Peace, Mate!
Earl.
Worthy of my applause! -
WOW this is an amazing poem! This is the best, hardest hitting war poem I've ever read (and I do have a book that consists SOLELY on war poems) and your vocabulary is so much better than that found in an average of poem. FANTASTIC write!
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Jiminy crickets I could almost feel the bullets whizzing by. Scary. Strong feelings strong piece. RobinRae.
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Cripes! What a powerful piece. And what a departure from your usual stuff. Very strong. Very emotive. If not your best, it's certainly way up there......
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