Writing Prompts: War

Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan... the unending struggle of humanity against tyranny and towards self-determination, respect, humanitarian programs... Basic rights to safety, food, water, education, love...

As a writer, I feel a moral obligation to write about the struggles, to give voice to those who cannot speak for themselves, and to speak to those who may not otherwise know about these times. Memories of other conflicts can also lead to poems. Study history, read the news, listen to the first person accounts on the news and on the internet, and from your empathy, write.

To write about war, I try to find the emotion with its sights, scents, and textures. I let my mind sink into the feeling, whether it be despair or celebration. I may use my own memories, work from the words others have said, or the sound of their cries.

Start by trying to write myku, the micro-poems. Others will be inspired by what you post, and reading their work will teach you how to move through your longer poems.

Here is a poem I wrote on the American election that tore the US between Gore and Bush. It uses memories, history read, and the personal stories of others that I have internalized over the years.:

A Litany of Battle Scars

Where were you on the 4th of May in 1970 when the sun shone hot
and summer had begun to make itself known to spring?
I was at Kent State protesting the undeclared war in Cambodia,
acting as a citizen, doing my patriotic duty,
stunned when the national guard moved toward us
glad when they moved away.
Foolishly we followed, asking why they chose to represent
the men who called people gooks and had them slaughtered in their villages,
the leaders who lied and ordered their brothers to kill and be killed
in the name of liberty.

Where were you on the 17th of August in 1969 when the breeze swept through the mountains
cooling the hot summer air, singing through the trees?
I was at Woodstock dancing with my sisters and brothers,
women and men linking arms together against the lying man
bound by respect for the earth, celebrating.
It was peace and love, and the music of our time that filled us as we
watched the pain of the man’s rejection of our generation
being erased from our souls.

Where were you on the 30th of January 1968 when the chill had set in hard
and winter made it impossible to stand against the wearying wind?
I was in South Vietnam fighting with my brothers who had become my country,
of which I was a citizen, so I did my duty,
surviving the heat of the jungle, the dark of the tunnels,
saving each other to do it again; following orders, not questioning why,
just counting down the days on a short-timers calendar,
wanting to live long enough to fly home to the world.

Where were you on the 9th of November 2004 when fall danced his last tango,
twirling between the raindrops, sweeping away leaves in the wind?
I was talking to my neighbors, asking them to vote for change,
acting as a citizen, doing my patriotic duty
watching election returns with hope on my sleeve,
waiting for word from my daughter in Iraq,
praying she would live through a war led by a man who lies
in the name of liberty.

Katherine A Minden ©2009