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War Games


Sirens blare

Spotlights go awry

The cell drops

Slowly

Emphatically

Minutes feel like hours

Then finally

The solid steel

Caged Fury

Touches ground

For a moment

Calm takes over

A sense of peace

Tranquility even

THEN

The first army

Makes their way

To the battleground

Poised for a fight

Team #2

Similar to a coliseum

Walk out

And feel the stare

All eyes on them

As they are ready to pounce

Ready to fight

Ready for combat

It is time

LET

THE

WAR

GAMES

BEGIN!!!

One member of each crew

Enters first

The door closes

And the games start

Back and forth

The fists fly

The feet kick

The bodies soar

And then

One makes physical contact

With the grater like fence

Violently

Viciously

Unforgiving

Whatever plans

Were created

Go right out the window

A human demolition derby

Four minutes and fifty seconds go by

And a countdown from 10

Starts

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

A buzzer sounds

And one member of the army

Enters the fray

Into a 2-on-1 advantage

How you ask?

Before the fight

A coin toss determined

Who got the 1st upper hand

For 5 minutes

Until a soldier from

The second army

Evens the odds

Every five minutes

This back-and-forth

Transpires

Until everyone is in the

Hell on Earth within Prison walls

Only then

Does the war officially begin

And victory can be attained

The door closes shut

A padlock clings together

Now War Games truly takes shape

Blood is shed

Bruises and welts form

Beatdowns aplenty

The only War Games

Can truly end

Is by raising the white flag

Surrendering

Submitting

Quitting

Men literally allowing pure destruction

To their minds

To their bodies

Instead of losing this fight

However

Even in the heat of battle

The hate of one another

Something’s gotta give

And the two words

No man or woman

Loves to state

Rolling off their tongue

Out of their mouth

And into the stratosphere

“I QUIT”

It’s all over

The war is over

One team stands tall

Raising their arms

Victorious

Winners

The others take the L

The ultimate indignity

Surrendering

Failing at the goal

No bragging rights

No celebration

Just delusions of grandeur

Of what could’ve been

Superficial injuries are temporary

Mental anguish is forever

The PTSD of War Games

Changes a man more ways than one

A lot have entered

A select few leave

On their own volition

Others

Never the same

Everyone leaves changed

It isn’t just a fight

A war

A battle of epic proportions

It is truly

A MATCH

BEYOND

Jon Harder

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