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The Battle of Ideas

Resolved.

My bullets are not packed with gun powder
but rather verbs, sir
exploding in my opponent's stomach.
Intellectual ammunition, you see
pierces unrelenting minds,
stubborn hands grab firearms
my arms fire words.

Twisting and flipping,
turning and reversing
letters that form tiny masterpieces.

You regurgitate a sentence, only so
he can flip it around, and

you're left . . .
. . . left staring down the barrel of your own words.

A crossfire of jargon . . . no
rather a shootout of ideas,
waiting to see who has more nouns left in his clip.
I reach to scoop up your empty metaphors
automatic words traveling
back and forth,
but not without delicate precision.

Shielded words ricochet off the floor,
as predicates are partitioned with
the tiny tools that dissect simple subjects
making the green ponder the fate of their combat,
questioning the readiness of their own engagement.

Check your vernacular cadet!
I've been briefed by sergeant Encyclopedia
And General Lexicon.
Reinforcements are brought up
in the form of historical facts.

Prose or poetics,
Quotes or rhetoric,
what's in your arsenal?

Diction,
emphasis, tone
and tempo.
Lyrical bootcamp
For the wordplay wordsmith.

Affirmative
or negative
trained emotions remain sedative
not to be overcome by the powers of pathos

Preset battle lines can't harness
colorful adjectives
that stab eardrums.
Twisting and bending flexible sentences.
Battle spectators marvel at the intensity of mental jousting,
the complexity of verbal sparring.

Blows of wisdom followed by
deployments of humor
and sarcasm.
A magical mix of logic and wit.

Hurling syllogisms that combust
and detonate on falsehoods.
The unseasoned at this craft are
led into mines of contradiction.

As the dust settles
opponents stand erect,
bodies without a scratch,
minds sharp as ever.
A victor soon to be decided.

Who knew war could be this righteous?
Who knew war could be beautiful?

Resolved.

Learn more about this author, Ryan Headley.
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