Originally posted on 31 December 2011
“Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The first casualty when war comes is truth.” – Hiram Johnson
Mind’s eye
My father fought
A war
Years before
My birth
As I grew up
I watched him
Fight it
Again and again
His sinewy hands
Trembled
As he pried apart
Venetian blinds
Scouting the enemy invasion
Of our suburban neighborhood
Armed with a bottle of juice
A newspaper
Or any other munitions
At hand
He held his ground
Paralyzed
By his reality
Bisous,
Léa
poetry, photos and musings oh my! 
Incredibly powerful, Lea. I can see your father in my mind’s eye. Much love to you XO
Thank you Carly. He was such a sad skeleton of a man. Gros bisous et calins, XOXO
Want to know something strange? I never even saw the title of your poem, and I used the words ‘mind’s eye’ *freaks out* XO
I noticed that you used Mind’s eye… XO
If you publish another collection (which I hop you will) – this MUST be in it!!
It was in my first collection, Reality is Relative…
My next book is waiting for someone to write the forward… 😉 XO
Wow Lea, very powerful even though I have seen it before. Somehow seeing it here on its own its speaks even louder. Brilliant xxx
Sorry to repeat on you… You do have the book. 😉 xxx
Repeats are necessary Lea; this is a poem to be read over and over xxx
Christine, you are such a dear! I think I may have stopped blogging some time ago without you! 🙂 xxx
I mean every word Lea, your poetry has strong messages in it that need to be heard xxx
Merci beaucoup ton amie! xxx
Despite it all, I loved my father. He was so very ill and didn’t realise it.
Your love for him was unconditional xxx
I don’t know any other way! xxx
Me neither xxx
There was never a doubt in my mind! xxx
😊 xxx
🙂 xxx
my father didn’t fight in the war but he was a boy then and saw too much… the memories never faded as long as he lived… great quote by Martin Luther King Jr.
combat changes men… life is an intelligence test… and most are doing poorly. The bell curve does not apply… unless the mean is lowered…
I know all too well the difficulties that return with not just the men. As a therapist, I worked with many vets from more than one war. Many were very intelligent. Thank you for stopping by and taking time to comment.
Lea a very transparent poem and something so powerful to be carrying around in the mind. So many were effected after the wars. I hope he found peace.
Thank you Kath. I wish I could say that he did find some peace. Regardless, he was my father and I loved him.
Yes, all too familiar. Yet, I loved him as perhaps only a small girl could?
It’s a powerful and poignant poem, thanks for sharing Léa x
Thank you Polly! x
Paralyzed by his reality………so many of us are, in different ways, in varying degrees. And impersonal, impartial reality is illusive for all of us.
Love the poem. Your ability to take us into another’s experience in so few words is awesome. Thank you for this sharing. It speaks volumes to me today.
Thank you Eileen. I’m afraid his reality coloured my own. I ‘grew-up’ trying to protect him from others. It took time and work to realise that he ‘should’ have protected me. C’est la vie!
This was unbelievably moving Lea, the poignancy you wrote it with is so powerful. Thank you for sharing this piece xx
Thank you Becka. xx
I have a photo of what I consider an unusual flower. I don’t have a way to send it to you. If you are interested, you can let me know at leamuse@orange.fr xx
I’ve just sent you an email now Lea 🙂 xx
Merci beaucoup Becka! I just emailed the photo. 😉 xx
Such a powerful and moving poem. Thank you xx
Merci! xx