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
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
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.
It’s that waiting time of year, that pause between seasons when waiting becomes the overwhelming feeling.
But we all need pauses times to prepare for what’s next. Moments of pause to refresh our thoughts, reorganize our priorities, visit our goals, and reconnect to our dreams. Above all, never let go of those dreams. -Mandy Ricks
So, here we are, dare I say again, holding each other tight, perhaps in an effort to stop from falling apart.
But things do change, and maybe they will for us too. And then we can hold each other close, out of love instead of love instead of desperation. -Mandy Ricks
Find the wild
Listen quietly to the sound of the wilderness
Trees rustling
birds chirping
the breeze whispering.
Breathe all of it in and you will feel like the wisest of us all.
-Mandy Ricks
Writing can be hard for me, but I feel compelled to continue. To find thoughts that draw pictures and sentences that explain thoughts. To offer intrigue, comfort, and hope. To trigger memories. Maybe sometimes sadness and traumas. Because all of these make up and include life. Astounding and compelling life. The same life that we give thanks for. -Mandy Ricks
Evening rolls in, softly, gently, a soothing reprieve.
And as the leaves turn and drop with graceful harmony so does my need to please.
-Mandy Ricks
Mandy Ricks 