The world is a board game
filled with guns and wars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Civilians everywhere
the throw of the dice crushes them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Modern warfare means
Schools and hospitals
temples, churches, mosques,
community buildings
mums and kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like the 300 Spartans fighting Persia:
The Spartans hid behind a wall of bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike the Spartans
today\u2019s bodies are non-combatants
put into the wall while still alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those human structures are targeted:
the wall
those in it
those behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shameless game masters
inoculated against guilt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The world is a board gamefilled with guns and wars. Civilians everywherethe throw of the dice crushes them. Modern warfare means Schools and hospitals temples, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":4373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19],"tags":[614,21,612,613,611,610],"class_list":["post-4370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poetry","tag-game-masters","tag-poetry","tag-spartans","tag-verse","tag-war","tag-warfare"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pff1uY-18u","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3871,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=3871","url_meta":{"origin":4370,"position":0},"title":"Inheritance","author":"Maggie McLaren","date":"October 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"All the men died,\u00a0or lefton fields of blood and to distant shores. Heroes and angelshaunted newborn babies' cries,bruised women's tender hearts,left silent spaces unfilled and denied,unshed tears, grieving bones, lost souls. All the men died,or left,into the silence of self, feelings frozen,women stayed,bore daughters, disconnected,and traumatised.\u00a0 Daughters of fathers absent,Struggled,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Memory Book"","block_context":{"text":"Memory Book","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=120"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/hugo-jehanne-LOHVrTsdvzY-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/hugo-jehanne-LOHVrTsdvzY-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/hugo-jehanne-LOHVrTsdvzY-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/hugo-jehanne-LOHVrTsdvzY-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":676,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=676","url_meta":{"origin":4370,"position":1},"title":"The Walls Are Splattered With Blood","author":"Amanda Gambas","date":"April 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The walls are splattered with blood.My bloodmy husband\u2019s bloodtoo much blood spilled tonight.Grey ghosts we call them, orWhite walkersNew arrivals, pale, nearly invisible,\u00a0evil A gentle snore,maybe human or canineNot loud enough to keep me awakeI begin to dose offNervous system spiked alertby the spine chilling zzzz in my earSmack, smack\u00a0with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Poetry","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=19"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/logan-weaver-lgnwvr-tIQ7_YFHId4-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/logan-weaver-lgnwvr-tIQ7_YFHId4-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/logan-weaver-lgnwvr-tIQ7_YFHId4-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/logan-weaver-lgnwvr-tIQ7_YFHId4-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3960,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=3960","url_meta":{"origin":4370,"position":2},"title":"Mourning for Mallacoota","author":"Maggie McLaren","date":"November 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Dead trees rise from the hills like grey hairs on a bald man's head,New leaves cling in clumps to straight black tree trunks,Wattles emerge under burnt forests,\u00a0randomly scattered like plump golden cushions upon the earth,Blanched tree bodies lie on steep ochre banks,\u00a0patiently waiting to decompose. Country is brown and thirsty,a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Memory Book"","block_context":{"text":"Memory Book","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=120"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20230810_0945431.jpg?fit=1200%2C568&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20230810_0945431.jpg?fit=1200%2C568&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20230810_0945431.jpg?fit=1200%2C568&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20230810_0945431.jpg?fit=1200%2C568&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20230810_0945431.jpg?fit=1200%2C568&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4257,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=4257","url_meta":{"origin":4370,"position":3},"title":"This is Not a Poem","author":"Elissa McKay","date":"March 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThis is not poetry!\u201dmy son shoutsthe darkness of his eyesswimming in outrage Because I can\u2019t just arrangewords on the pageto make pretty shapesthe words have to mean somethingor rhyme (rhyme can stand infor meaning) poetry has tobe profound More meaningful thanthe long clean lines of armand leg, his straight nose,his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Memory Book"","block_context":{"text":"Memory Book","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=120"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":339,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=339","url_meta":{"origin":4370,"position":4},"title":"beginnings are endings are beginnings again","author":"Teresa Lawler","date":"November 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Lockdown is over now. This feels Significant. Freedom I guess, for some of us, those of us who aren\u2019t still trapped In prisons In high rises In aged care In marriages But social expectations weigh heavy and possibilities are endless. Too endless, so I stay home. Still. My home now,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Poetry","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=19"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/254695989_1169776126885783_7534854519485356484_n-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/254695989_1169776126885783_7534854519485356484_n-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/254695989_1169776126885783_7534854519485356484_n-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/254695989_1169776126885783_7534854519485356484_n-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/254695989_1169776126885783_7534854519485356484_n-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4315,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=4315","url_meta":{"origin":4370,"position":5},"title":"Evening Song","author":"Judie Mitchell","date":"March 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"for Sylvia Plath (Morning Song) Once upon a foreign timewe were bornour hearts ticked loudOur mothers fussed and frettedfearful our baby breaths would falterheard every hungry wailsmiled as we sang our burbling songs\u00a0proud as vowels morphed into words We were postwar preciousharbingers of harmonyfattened on free school milkand heard by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Poetry","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=19"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rod-long-y0OAmd_COUM-unsplash-e1711068925336.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rod-long-y0OAmd_COUM-unsplash-e1711068925336.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rod-long-y0OAmd_COUM-unsplash-e1711068925336.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rod-long-y0OAmd_COUM-unsplash-e1711068925336.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/levi-meir-clancy-10MWI2UAWfg-unsplash.jpg?fit=6240%2C4160&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4370"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4374,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4370\/revisions\/4374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}