Ben Jones

“w for war (1)
I
wasn’t a helmet
I wasn’t a boot
I wasn’t a mortar-shell
I wasn’t a tank
I
wasn’t a commander
I wasn’t a soldier
a minefield
barbed wire
an embankment, not me
I was a bit of a photograph, small, with no corners
in the left-hand breast pocket
over the smashed heart of a conscript.”
― Fatemeh Shams, When They Broke Down The Door: Poems

“i want more ‘men’
with flowers falling from their skin.
more water in their eyes.
more tremble in their bodies.
more women in their hearts
than
on their hands.
more softness in their height.
more honesty in their voice.
more wonder.
more humility in their feet.
–– less”
― Nayyirah Waheed, Salt

“if we must
both
be right.
we will
lose
each other.”
― Nayyirah Waheed

“when you are struggling
in your
writing (art).
it usually means
you
are hearing one thing.
but
writing (creating) another.
–– honest | risk”
― Nayyirah Waheed, Salt