Pretty Nice Things

The beauty in the world masked by war.

They want me to write nice things.

A gentle breeze comfort like prayer

Soothes burning flesh under an unforgiving sun

They want me to write pretty things.

Lush fields dotted with white, yellow, lavender,

And pink flowers paint the countryside

Well, I rather write about not so nice things.

Things like fingernails and chalkboards dancing

Making the body cringe upon trespass

I rather write about not so pretty things.

Things like diseased minds caused by hunger

Leaving distorted images upon exposed rib cages

I will write screams that haunt from the ruins of a war zone

Senseless killings of innocent people unlucky enough to be born

Right into a battlefield just to inherit someone else’s war

All they have is the promise that they will not be forgotten

That gives them the will to live such a ruthless existence

There’s nothing nice about genocide

It’s not pretty to be raped, beaten, your body mutilated

Left for dead in the jungle with your insides hanging outside

Rotted remains of a life spent drenched in fear

Are sometimes discovered but not before savages are through

Desecrating the decaying flesh

There’s nothing nice about hunger

It’s not pretty to feed on desperation and eat tasteless hope

While waiting for good news from the other side of the world

Enduring an endless suffering as it exhausts the brain of thought

An arid tongue is numb with a thirst for knowledge

And it forgets the language it once spoke

There’s nothing pretty or nice that has been untouched by hate

These pretty things only mask the ugliness that resides within

These nice things only drown out images of rape and famine

There is a war that you may not know of  

In a country you only heard of or read about

Separated by oceans, languages, and something we call freedom

Disgusting and disfigured we crawl through life

Never fully conscious

Pretending to be pretty things, nice things

Reviews

[concerned citizen]

Wow this is beautiful! This line "There’s nothing pretty or nice that has been untouched by hate" is such truth. Everything that is regarded as beautiful in this plastic society has been constructed using dirty means. You really hit the nail on the head with your observations here. Everything is fake. The important crises are ignored while we all prattle on about snooky or whatever. Nobody wats to hear the reality, they just want to stay in their bubble and think happy thoughts. Thank you for not!