Paper Soldiers Poem by Ibn Ali

Paper soldiers, minds imprisoned,
The cycle is in repetition,
He feeds them love with cruel intentions,
His father did his mother such,
He'll soon find someone to pry,
Broken souls aren't in short supply,
And so he'll tell whoever listens,
Father wasn't there to teach,
Or train his princess to be a Queen,
She meted out her treasure
So the pauper's share would match the King's,
How is it she hates her father,
When every man she loves is just like him,

Soldier woman, disrespected,
But to her, this is the norm,
No degree of introspection
Would make her leave her soldier boy,
There's more fear than love involved,
The way he treats her's to be deplored,
Broken souls can't heal each other,
They only make each other worse,
Soldier woman bore her wounds,
But he, to her, was salt,
He said he'd leave,
She bore their seed,
But this was not enough,
Of all the promises made and broken,
What a one to keep,
He fed her lies, that she believed,
Now she can't stand to eat,

Paper soldier,
Print the army,
Single mother, by default, a sainted sinner,
Hurt, alone and all too bitter,
Pours the anger in her critter,
The father, an all too distant figure,
Never stayed to raise his litter,
He was charming, soon disarmed her,
The scars he gave her still remain,
She mistook his lust for love,
And kept, what he called, his mistake,
Father never claimed his boy,
And so he got his mother's name,
He could pass his siblings in the street,
He'd walk right by and never know,
They all look like him, but they hardly see,
Papa was a rolling stone,
Council housing, mother spouseless,
A different 'uncle' every week,
Little soldier's weak and powerless
To stop the goings on he sees,
Mother's antics, brother's prancing,
Makes it hard for him to be at home,
So he went and found a family
Just like him to call his own,

Paper soldiers,
Burn the army,
Scissor moulded, blades
disarmed them,
Paper soldier's fate's been scripted,
The ink has dried,
The pen's been lifted,
Prophecies are self-fulfilling,
Was cast the role
So plays the villain,
Smiling is an act of weakness,
Kindness feeds the wolves that seek it,
His scowl is practised,
Lines rehearsed,
Learned bravado, perfect actor,
The scene's been set,
The world is watching,
The name comes with a reputation,
Words impacted,
Pride is dented,
That knife's not there for decoration,
Flesh and metal,
Bloody pavements,
Whole chapters of their lives are wasted,
What was a novel
Reads like a leaflet,
Another paper soldier's gone,
Far from sight but left behind
A trail of paper soldier sons