Roberta Writes – d’Verse, Power, Reena’s Xploration Challenge and Thursday Doors #poetry #photography

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My poem about leadership was written for two prompts this week. Firstly, Reena’s Xploration challenge which you can join in here: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2025/08/14/reenas-xploration-challenge-394/. Reena’s prompt phrase is “the dark side of freedom.”

Lisa’s d’Verse prompt is power with fitted nicely with Reena’s prompt. You can join in the d’Verse challenge here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/08/12/dverse-poetics-tuesday-power/

Leadership

a great responsibility

Respect essential

to ease tensions

and conflict

Integrity

both in being honest,

having strong moral principles,

and the ability

to uphold territorial integrity

and national sovereignty

Vision

to plan the future

with imagination and wisdom

Negotiation

to resolve points of difference

and craft outcomes

to satisfy various interests

the needs of all stakeholders

Honesty

being free of deceit

and avoiding self interest

Humility

having an accurate opinion

of your abilities and

expressing yourself modestly

with a non-imposing mentality

Authenticity

being able to identify the

reality or truth of a situation

and take ownership for decisions

owning up to your mistakes

Seven qualities of good leadership

There are many more

Strong leaders

can lead their followers

off a cliff; like lemmings

An inability by the masses

to chose good leaders

leads to power abuse,

corruption, and ‘feeding’

flowing downward

from the top

all involved closing ranks

to protect each other

Society spirals downwards

into economic distress,

anger, and discontent

as the dark side of freedom

rips out its soft throat

Thursday Doors

Today I’m starting with the first stop on our tour of Flanders WW1 memorial sites and cemeteries. These photographs are for Dan’s Thursday Doors Challenge. You can join in here: https://nofacilities.com/2025/08/14/thursday-doors-returns/. My choice of photographs is deliberate as it goes with the theme of power abuse and the dark side of freedom.

Our first stop was Langemark German Military Cemetery. I realised later on the tour that the German cemetery is much plainer that the Allied cemeteries. There were no flowers, just rows of plain markers.

Picture caption: Main entrance into German memorial building at Langemark German Military Cemetery
Picture caption: Doors into the German memorial building at Langemark German Military Cemetery
Picture caption: a wreath memorial for the German soldiers at Langemark German Military Cemetery
Picture caption: Grave markers at the Langemark German Military Cemetery
Picture caption: Columns bearing names of the dead soldiers
Picture caption: Four soldiers memorial at Langemark German Military Cemetery
Picture caption: list of names on the back of one column
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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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98 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – d’Verse, Power, Reena’s Xploration Challenge and Thursday Doors #poetry #photography”

  1. Your verse should be required reading for world leaders-I loved the photo essay. It should serve as a warning to all think they have what it takes to take over the world- that they must tread across the bodies of the future to get there. brilliant pairing.

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  17. “…the dark side of freedom rips out its soft throat.”

    Powerful and true, Robbie. I was struck by the similarities between the German cemetary and those in the countries of which Germany was the enemy. The war dead are all the same.

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    1. My pleasure. Priscilla. I was warned after taking a personality test that people follow me and that it’s a great responsibility. I decided to focus my skills on influencing people using art and writing and not my corporate role. I can’t live false values to that extent.

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  25. I love your poem / summary of human qualities and leadership. I wish more people would pay attention to this. It seems like our leaders as well as regular folks don’t understand this anymore. After so much progress we are taking wrong turns. Your photos, which are great photos, are a somber and poignant reminder of what can go wrong.

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  26. Perceptive, as always, about humans and their qualities, good and bad.
    Military graveyards should always make us think hard about man’s continued use of wars as the primary way to solve conflicts between different peoples. (K)

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  28. the war dead: honour to all the fallen; leadership qualities: I wish the current crop of leaders, here and abroad, displayed more of these; no names, no pack drill 🙂

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  29. Wise words about leadership, Robbie. If only those in power cared–most do not. You know my thoughts about the current regime here. But in addition, they do not care for veterans, and they are busy erasing and white-washing history.

    I can tell you were deeply affected by your visit to the cemeteries in Flanders. I often think how naively they referred to it as “the war to end all wars,” even as they developed new ways to kill people.

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  31. Your poem is spot-on for where the US is now, particularly the last two lines:

    “as the dark side of freedom
    rips out its soft throat”

    Coincidentally, my husband and I went to a cemetery across the state to pay our respects to a young civil rights activist who was murdered in 1965.

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  34. The columns remind me of the Vietnam Memorial, but without the reflection. Your poems are strong and powerful. I like the entrance door surrounded by blocks of stone.

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  35. It brings it home when you see so many graves, all young men with their lives in front of them, snuffed out, and for what? Not for the ordinary people, I don’t think.

    All conflicts end in talks, yet so many have to die before we get there. Why can’t our leaders start with talking over our differences?

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