
Maybe we want to suffer more than the people we hurt so that they’ll forgive us.

Maybe we want to suffer more than the people we hurt so that they’ll forgive us.

The instigators sit in electric climates basking in their righteousness.
Buildings crumble, bodies buried, children cry.
Slop dished out – bullets pierce the hungry.
Lies, heat, hate, fuel the fervid war.
Is peace too much to ask?
Yes, dammit it is.
-Mandy Ricks

Beneath the smile lived the fear.
Uncertainty was his only friend.
Take my hand I invited, I will help.
I will hide and care for you.
Generosity eased his pain and
we all languished in my superiority.
But one day I became enraged,
changed my mind,
and threw him out.
I sneered at his tears and
congratulated myself on the states
I am.
Just call me, America

Those that don’t know preach
second chances and starting over.
But self forgiveness is a difficult thing.
Perhaps the best we can hope for
is acceptance of our mistakes,
acknowledgement of our efforts,
and a gentle heart to hold our shame.-Mandy Ricks

By roar, summer comes screeching in by drone, spewing heat, anger, and destruction. Sent by cowards sitting in judgment. And the people cower, running for shade, drenched in dirt and tears of starvation. How can this be real? Isn’t there supposed to be a ceasefire? Maybe only for those in the white tower.
-Mandy Ricks

Thousands of miles,
bombs are dropped,
to threaten retaliation.
A plane flies,
A ball of fire,
families die,
and lives are destroyed.
Free speech is tested,
Democracy loses its lustre.
A dictator calls himself a President,
and the people cry.
-Mandy Ricks

Scarred hands clutch broken dreams.
I bled through nights no on dared to scream.
Ashes crown the ones who burn.
Each wound a page no chance to turn.
Still, I rise, too fierce to mourn.
-Mandy Ricks

Broke my chains with trembling hands.
Built a kingdom from shifting sands.
No hero came – I wore the crown.
Found my fire when the world burned down.
I am my own salvation now.
Mandy Ricks

Dance on the edge of chaos- it’s where the fire feels real. – Mandy Ricks

Life’s too short to tiptoe through someone else’s rules. -Mandy Ricks with Willow

I hope today you fall in love with being you. -Mandy Ricks with Willow

I walked through fire, let it sting,
felt the loss of everything.
Ghosts still whisper, scratch my skin,
but I won’t let them pull me in.
Blade of doubt against my throat,
I wear the scars, but still I float.
No savior comes, no hand to hold,
just me—alone, but fierce and bold.
I carve my name in silent stone,
a war-born soul, a heart my own.
No chains, no gods, no need to bow—
I am enough. I am now.