Overcoming

In the heat of the battle
Behind the corner of every last eye
Tired and empty
No one sees her cry

Through the tears she fights
In this unending war
What gets her through, the courage
That burns deep inside of her

He watches from the sidelines
Longing to fight with someone so strong
Within him admiration
Of the young girl pushing on

She sees him waiting also
She prays he'll come to aid
A front of strength and courage
But deep down she's afraid

He sighs and goes to join her
She sighs and fronts once more
They end the fight together
For victory they long for

A perfect team is what they make
Her pain is gone for good
His shyness seemed to fly away
As in the end both would

I got this one from a song and my short story... All these poems are beginning to do that. But this is about the characters in that one.
So I think we're starting to see a common pattern here- inspired by one of my stories and some song, and about a character in the story that inspired it (Or in this case, two). Yeah, I know, it's repetative. I'm not a huge fan of routine things, trust me, but try writing a poem AND a story behind it, especially when the story behind it is ALWAYS the same, and make both interesting. The poem's the meat in the whole thing, the most important part, so I'll generally focus all my energy on that. If you don't like it, I'm not going to do a "roses are red, violets are blue" thing just so I can have a good explanation, so don't get your hopes up.
But anyway, I do like this one, because it's one of the few that clearly tells a story. They all tell somewhat of one, but most just convey an idea.

Transformation

Pride burns deep as blood
Strong as cold fire
A mask of a harder life
Forced satisfaction from hidden rage

The past hurts the most
A heart so broken, so black
It takes one to rebuild
What was only deeper

No acceptance
To change nor relief
Chastisement from the wiser
Helpless to help

Journey out
Weary feet pull a soul from under
Eyes fixed on the horizon
A fear of deeper emotion

Bloodshed draws compassion
In new life and sacrifice
The love within fire
The true strength within others' lives

A scarred past
Leaves a distant echo
Faded shadows of long lost
Still prey on the bitter abhorrence

But truth overcoming
The cold fire extinguished
True pride and strength stand prevailed
And a brilliant heart remains after reconciliation

I drew inspiration for this one from a story, but not my short story. It is one of mine, but it's currently 50 pages and I'm not even a third of the way done yet, so, in my mind, that wouldn't qualify as "short." But anyway, it's about the internal struggle within one of the main characters. There's two main characters, and having the joint protagonists lets me relay two conflicts, one internal and one external, to execute through each one.

Oh, and if you had no idea what I just said, that's okay, because I'm running high on literary device terms that I've been studying for my reading final. I have a tendency to do that...

In Her Eyes

In her eyes I'm a leader
I'm fearless and strong
I'll stand by through anything
And I can't do wrong.

The beautiful innocence
In which she sees me
Is something to strive for
To aspire to be.

I know it's not possible
To rise all the way
To as high as she sees me
Try as I may

But holding her hand
I'm given a home
A haven for refuge
I'm never alone.

She ceases to realize
Where she stands from my view
Her abundance of gifts
That always shines through

In my eyes she is beautiful
She's innocent but strong
She'll get me through anything
And keep me from wrong.

This one was inspired by a weekend I spent with my little cousin. It was a great experience to spend so much time with her, we had a lot of fun. I also was able to draw a poem out of it, so anything I'm able to do that with, I consider a success, especially when it involves having as much fun with loved ones like I did.

Forever Will Be

A hand out the window
A dream of the day
A better tomorrow
The freedom at bay.

A heart in the mist
A hazy ideal
But forever so longing
For what you can't feel.

Your sight is a refuge
From what right now stands
A beacon to guide
Pining hearts, souls and hands.

In the end we will capture
The treasure we chase
The so longed for freedom
From the tumiol we face

On that final day
We'll stand strong and free
The life that we fought for
And forever will be.

Yep, I'm back! Back to writing about FREEDOM!!!! (And other cool stuff like that.) My short story that inspires a lot of my poems took a turn for the free, victorious, better. I was listening to a great song called "Sound the Bugle" and it put freedom on my brain too. So yeah, short story and song inspired this. Surprise, surprise.

Eyes, Hands, and Hearts

In a flash of starry eyes
A held hand,
A close bond,
Descends something greater.

A challenge of mind,
A challenge of strength,
A challenge of heart.

Stars in their eyes turn to fire,
An intelligent passion,
A cunning drive,
Thinking as one.

Two hands are held tighter,
In fear of loss,
But in joining of strength,
Empowered together.

And the bond grows closer,
With the force deep within,
And knowing triumph is near,
They stand together.

Two stand up
To the fury before them
Eye to eye
Hand in hand
Hearts as one.

Yeah, I admit it, this one is a little gushy for my style, but it isn't just about love, so you gotta give me some credit. I actually had inspiration for this one, so there's actually an excuse this time. Ha!
But seriously, I accredit a short story I was writing for throwing some romance in there and putting it on my mind. It has a war in it too, and that's really the main focus, but this little section of it was more focused on...
Um...
That part.
Hey, poets gotta branch out sometime, I suppose. But I'm not losing my other values in there either. This will be the gushiest it will get.

Dreaming

With dreams and hopes among us,
To everything we can amount
The only thing we need is trust
In the fire that pushed us out.

Reaching for ambitions,
Never accepting defeat.
Every step, part of our mission
And the challenges we meet.

The odds all overcoming
We push onto it with pride
And with our hearts' steady drumming
We come nearer with every stride.

Crazy visions, crazy dreams,
Too bold for us are none
We keep on with our crazy schemes
So we can say we won.

For the record, the every-other-line-rhyming was REALLY hard to do, so you're probably not gonna see it again. And I don't know where I got the idea or what inspired it... It was one of those that was just spur of the moment, I suppose.

Sacrifice

You go and face a million others
Who all seem to want you gone
Ignore the hisses and the jeers
As weary feet drag on.

You're hurt and you are wounded
In spite of all the rest
Who spit upon your path
And heckle with detest.

You stand upon your deathbed
Or at least what it could be
And face your end unwavering
Because that's what it takes to be free.

In the end you stand as sacrifice
For people just like you
Who simply can't be brave enough
To do the things you do.

But after all the pain
A voice sounds deep inside
There is no greater love
That in one could abide

A sacrifice for all you were
And all that you could give
Many will mourn, many will cry
But in the end you live.

This one has a double meaning- Praise for everyone who has given their lives for someone at some point and the courage it takes to do that, and detailing a more specific case, what Jesus went through to save all of us. That's really all I have to say about this poem.

All For Independence

It all started there
A man with a quill
A dream of freedom
In the midst of what looked endless

Many long days
He sat there writing
His opinion of what should be
And what we were becoming

Fifty-six signatures
Seconded his beliefs
Future leaders
Powerful politicians
Men of all thirteen lands

July Fourth, 1776
The day we decided
After years of fighting
That freedom was ours.

The declaration rang out
Across all of America
Letting all of our enemies know
We had already won.

It gave us the Revolution
A day glorious, proud, and free
On which we would stand
As a free nation.

I got my inspiration for this one from the Declaration of Independence. (That's kind of obvious.) But really, I admire the courage of Thomas Jefferson, possibly the greatest author who ever lived. It takes a lot of talent to be able to write THAT, I can tell you first hand that these poems aren't easy, let alone a document saying: "Hey, British, we're not under your control anymore, so go back to the mainland." That takes skill and courage, especially not to put it so blunt outright like I did.

For The Soldiers

As you choose to be brave
To go out for all
To run such a risk
As your life.

Only by surviving
Will we triumph
When tooth and nail
Only get us so far.

There are those safe at home
Depending on your fruit
To keep them
From deeper threats.

So stand up
Stick it out
Because your nation
Depends on you.

Be brave for us.
Become those of triumph.
Because you will always trimumph
If you never give in.

I didn't have much inspiration for this one... I guess it just came to me. But it's for the soldiers in the Middle East.
You guys are heroes. Keep pushing for us, even those who don't appreciate it, because they will in the end, when they can go to bed at night and know they're safe.

Victory's Song

We have been battered by constant fighting,
We have been stricken by constant defeat.

Our trust in our comrades the only thing that gets us through.
Our perseverance our power,
Our intelligence our strength.

I can see the dim light leading the way.
A beacon we can follow to our fate.

We shall stand as triumph has its day,
Proud as the champions on a victorious night.

We'll win because of our refusal to submit.
We'll triumph in the end because we have more on the line.

They fight for money and power.
We fight for freedom, our lives.

We might be outnumbered,
Outsized,
But never outmatched,
Because in the end,
Our desire for freedom,
For safety,
Drives us.

I was inspired for this by a Taylor Swift's song, Change, and watching a documentary on the Revolutionary War. Weird combo to inspire a poem, but it turned out okay, I think.

The Internal War

In the midst of a firestorm,
Two sides wanting the kill,
Fight for each other's death.

War has left me scarred,
But empowered as well.
Living in the shadows of those before me,
I push on with the fight.

Thousands fall at my hand,
And the hands of those around me.
I don't like killing,
But sometimes it's necessary.

The line between friend and foe blurs.
I'm unsure which hand to hold,
When trust could cost you your life.
And when distrust could cost you the lives of others.

I'm forced not to get close to anyone,
For any day can be their death,
For any day they can betray you,
And I struggle with the weakness
That binds me to others.

In the midst of a firestorm,
Both of us wanting the kill,
We fight for each other's death,
And the lives of those beside us.
The lives of those we love.

I was inspired for this one while writing a short story about a war. This is what I meant on that sidebar- I touch on love a bit, but nothing gushy.