And so it must be repeated…
…when the cat scratches at the door wanting to be let in
come, come
And so it must be repeated…
…when screeches of missiles fly overhead
run, run
And so it must be repeated…
…when Mama’s voice soothes the frayed edges
there, there
And so it must be repeated…
…when the fringe comes to the centre
win, win
And so it must be repeated…
…when the image of the devil is hailed as a hero
praise, praise
And so it must be repeated…
…when all the signs of dying breaths disappear
gone, gone
And so it must be repeated…
…when the locks are bolted after sunset
tight, tight
And so it must be repeated…
…when shiny ribbons emerge from the dust
curiouser and curiouser
And so it must be repeated…
…when the tide rises to overwhelm the bloodied sands
rush, rush
And so it must be repeated…
…when the swarm of flies search for new flesh
buzz buzz
And so it must be repeated…
…when the ghoulish fiends build castles on the haunted beach
higher and higher
And so it must be repeated…
…when the night breaks so does the heart
beat
beat
beat
Shared with dVerse Poetics: Of Mantras, Repetita Juvant and The Sunday Whirl Wordle 676 and inspired by this post at Sunra Rainz
1994ever 
I really like the form of your poem, it has a great rhythm.
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Thank you 🙏
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Good one! I can hear the drums!
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Thanks 🙏
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I like how the sense of alarm starts with the cat and also all the staccato sounds in the poem that echo the heartbeat, like in this stanza:
“And so it must be repeated……when the locks are bolted after sunset
tight, tight”
And the poignant stanza of Mama soothing the frayed edges when she herself suffers. I’m really glad I inspired you, Shaun, thank you for the shout-out 🙌🏽
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Thanks for the inspiration 🙏
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This sounds like a nightmare at first, but reality is so much scarier.
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I’m grateful that my personal reality isn’t like this.
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That the poem ends on a beat, heart beat, seems so inevitable, so natural, given the drumbeats of war and weather and havoc on earth and under earth, only to unearth “ghoulish fiends” ready to devour the last remnants of life, of hope. Reads apocalyptically scary, and you’ve conveyed that pounding fear so very adeptly, Shaun.
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Thanks Dora. 🙏 I’m a lot more optimistic in general but the frustration in Sunra’s poem really fired me up!
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Really liked the diminishing heartbeat at the end!
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Thanks 🙏
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The beating of the heart is such an incredible constant, never giving up for a lifetime, unless we are unlucky, and a fitting place to finish this list poem which is thought provoking Shaun…
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Thanks 🙏 That line was a happy accident as I was thinking about a new day, day breaking and then lead me to a broken heart.
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