War in My Mind

By Reese Walker

Posted on May 1, 2023

Cover Image Title: Falling for Fall

Cover Image by: Natcha Kunkongkaphan

Classification: Photography

Year: 2023

I was so blind;

everyone took a side.

There is a war in my mind.

I forget I was once kind,

clinging to my pride.

I was so blind.

They stabbed me from behind,

now my hands are tied,

there is a war in my mind.

The compass is unaligned.

My eyes are open, but they lied-

I was so blind.

I am sorry for humankind,

I’m telling you I tried.

There is a war in my mind.

All those tears that I cried.

At your grave, I confide,

“I was so blind,

there is a war in my mind.”

Descriptions:

This poem is about being anxious, and how your thoughts can blind you to the outside world. It is in the form of a villanelle poem, where the very first and third line repeat at the end of every verse, then become a couplet at the end. The form of the poem enhances the message of the poem, to describe one’s torn mental state and how it affects their actions. Through repetition, the two repeated lines throughout the piece, the same words are applied in a different light. The end of each sentence either rhymes with “blind” or “cried.” The character is “sorry for humankind” because they feel they couldn’t do enough to help. They want to make a difference and stop the war in and outside their mind, but they are not strong enough. At the end of the story, they grieve for those they left behind in their pursuit of fulfillment. Perhaps, if the character had succeeded, there would be no war, and peace would reign.

[ * The End * ]

[Writing Editor: Kimberly Nguyen]