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Liis Belle Oct 2015
I hold a photograph, black and white
Up in front of me, and connect the lines
The structure of the buildings, the trees, and the pavement
The bridge and its railings, the shop window and canopy
And the scene in front of me, the one I’m living in
It’s beautiful and lively, full of real colour and light
With tourists looking down at maps, taking their photographs
Children running around with cones of ice cream in their hands
Cars rolling by, going off to a tall glass building somewhere
Advertisements on the street show the next thing we should buy

But the photograph I hold in my hand, it tells a different story
Of a crippled economy and time when life was a horror movie
The buildings were mere shadows, lurking like dark prisons
Soldiers marched through streets, gripping their separate guns
They shoot when they see fit, when they see the enemy
How do we know he’s an enemy? Well, he’s from a different country
And their blood stains the pavement; the clouds roll black in the skies
The fires of bombs illuminate the cities like swarms of fireflies
And from this picture I hold, it all looks black and white
But you and I both know this happened in perfect colour
People lived and died through it, the horror and the bloodshed
The terror of concentration camps, and blackouts every night

Just because it’s finished, and more than half a century has passed
Just because they rebuilt everything, and buried the dead bodies
Just because it’s now black and white, a history subject at school
It does not mean it didn’t happen to real people in real places
And while we divert our eyes and try to forget
Let’s just take a minute to remember.
You know those pictures people take where they're holding photographs from 50+ years ago and align it to the current buildings/place? I saw a collection of them with war being the subject, so I made this poem :)
Liis Belle Oct 2015
I could play this ******* game
For the rest of my life,
Lose every single ******* time
And still believe I’d win
Liis Belle Oct 2015
They stare at her, the crowds, the throngs
She keeps her head down as the cart bumps along
To the front, where her bane creeps closer still
If she doesn’t take a step, the blade surely will
She swallows down the useless tears
She was but a lady of thirty-seven years
Her life begins flashing before her sky-blue eyes
She visits each place one more time before she dies
Lovely music in the theatres of Austria
Living in the splendour of a grand palace in Vienna
A hall of mirrors, a planned wedding day
On the sixteenth of the merry month of May
Warm summers in the Schönbrunn gardens -
She steps on the executioner’s foot and begs her pardon
Some were silent; some called her ****** names
They were still shouting when the time finally came
She hoped for a world much better than this
The blade sliced her neck like a goodbye kiss.
I should probably post this on October 16 (the death anniversary of Marie Antoinette) but I'm scared I'll forget.
Liis Belle Oct 2015
The sky is tinted crimson red
Like the blood of our lost men
One was shot walking down the road
Another was killed for slipping codes
Every night at half past ten

The fragile buildings are crumbling
Like the bones of our lost men
One was blasted into the air like breaths of ash
Another was flattened as the houses crash
The blame is on dutiful artillerymen

The air is choking, hopeless and dead
Like the eyes of our lost men
One fell with a scream on his lips
Another drowned with a sinking ship
Never to see light again

The bombs are loud, and they go fast
Like the hearts of our remaining men
One is trapped under heaps of rubble
Another is injured, and clumsily stumbles
“Lord God, save our souls, amen.”
I just finished reading All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and it was soooo painful and so good. It was set during World War II, and looks upon the tragedies and consequences of wars. I recommend everyone to read it :)
Liis Belle Sep 2015
I could live a thousand lives
Off of the deaths I’ve wished
I could spread hatred like a deadly plague
Off of the thousands I’ve mindlessly kissed

I could save a hundred men
If I hadn’t saved myself
I could heal a hundred broken hearts
If I hadn’t selfishly left

I could’ve helped an entire country
Off of all the books I’ve read
I could’ve built a world of trust
Off of all the lies I planted in people’s heads

I could’ve done so much for the world
If I hadn’t done so much for myself
Yet despite all I did, I regret nothing
Because you live for no one but yourself
If we weren't all a little selfish at one point or another in our lives, we'd all be dead by now. Be selfish sometimes. Please.
Liis Belle Sep 2015
For my mother, I put on
My perfect ladylike costume
So she’ll go on thinking
That I’m the perfect daughter
And she’ll keep believing that
I want to live like her.

For my father, I put on
The good girl doing her part
Never wanting a brand new start
Sticking to one plan only
For my whole entire life

For my friends, I put on
My best smiling face
And I always laugh along
Pretending nothing is ever wrong
They’re so easy to deceive

For my enemies, I gloss over
The quarrels with my friends
Or my sense of loneliness
I put on my flawless perfect life
Hoping they’ll go away

For strangers, I put on
My most expensive clothes
I walk a different way
It’s funny how I won’t
Ever even see them again

I often wonder now
Who I really am, or was
Before this poison
Swallowed me.
Liis Belle Sep 2015
I found meaning in a shrivelled note
Scratches of pen to form a long-forgotten quote
It fell out of a lady’s bag, she didn’t even see
She wouldn’t notice when she gets home
And drinks her expensive tea

I found meaning in a one-night-stand
With a handsome face and strong callused hands
I can’t remember the exact shade of eyes
But I can still taste his warm lips, and feel
His fingers spreading my shaking thighs

I found meaning in a war history book
It wasn’t that I loved it, or that it had me quite hooked
It was rather the proof of existence, the triggers,
The consequences and aftermath  
That left me there to wonder.
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