In-Word Passage

In-Word Passage – Day 110 – War. Humanity’s Favorite Pastime

War
Humanity’s Favorite Pastime


First Messenian War – 740 BC * Wars of the Chinese Spring and Autumn Period – 722 BC to 481 BC * Lelantine War – 710 BC * Sennacherib’s Campaigns Against the Near East – 701 BC * Second Messenian War – 685 BC * Persian Wars – 499 BC to 448 BC * Sicilian Wars – 480 BC to 307 BC * Wars of Warring States Period in China – 475 BC to 221 BC * First Peloponnesian War – 460 BC to 445 BC * Samian War – 440 BC * Peloponnesian War – 431 BC to 404 BC * Corinthian War – 395 BC to 387 BC * Boeotian War – 379 BC to 373 BC * Revolt of the Satraps – 372 BC to 362 BC * Wars of the Rise of Macedon – 358 BC – 336 BC * War of the Allies – 357  BC to 355 BC * Third Sacred War – 356 BC to 346 BC * First Samnite War – 343 BC to 341 BC * Second Samnite War – 327 BC to 304 BC * Third Samnite War – 298 BC to 290 BC * Wars of Alexander the Great – 334 BC to 323 BC * Lamian War – 323 BC to 322 BC * Wars of the Diadochi – 323 BC to 280 BC * Babylonian War – 311 BC to 309 BC * Seleucid-Mauryan War – 305 BC to 303 BC * Gallic Invasions of the Balkans – 281 BC to 279 BC * Pyrrhic War – 280 BC to 275 BC * First Syrian War – 274 BC to 271 BC * Second Syrian War – 260 BC to 255 BC * Third Syrian War – 245 BC * Fourth Syrian War – 219 BC to 217 BC * Fifth Syrian War – 202 BC to 200 BC * Chremonidean War – 267 BC to 261 BC * Kalinga War – 265 BC to 263 BC * First Punic War – 264 BC to 241 BC * Second Punic War – 218 BC to 202BC * Third Punic War – 149 BC to 146 BC * Parni Conquest of Parthia – 238 BC * Qin’s Wars of Unification – 230 BC to 221 BC * Cleomenean War – 229 BC to 222 BC * First Macedonian War – 215 BC to 205 BC * Second Macedonian War – 200 BC to 196 BC * Third Macedonian War – 171 BC to 168 BC * Seleucid-Parthian Wars – 209 BC to 88 BC * Cretan War – 205 BC to 201 BC * Roman-Spartan War – 195 BC * Roman-Syrian War – 191 BC to 188 BC * First Servile War – 135 BC to 132 BC * Second Servile War – 104 BC to 100 BC * Third Servile War – 73 BC to 71 BC * Han-Xiongnu War – 133 BC to 89 BC * Jugurthine War – 122 BC to 105 BC * Cimbrian War – 113 BC to 101 BC * Gojoseon-Han War – 109 BC to 108 BC * Social War – 91 BC to 88 BC * Sulla’s First Civil War – 88 BC to 87 BC * First Mithridatic War – 89 BC to 85 BC * Second Mithridatic War – 83 BC to 82 BC * Third Mithridatic War – 74 BC to 63 BC * Pompey’s Georgian Campaign – 65 BC * Sulla’s Second Civil War – 82 BC to 81 BC * Julius Caesar’s Roman Invasion of Britian – 55 BC to 54 BC * Parthian War of Marcus Licinius Crassus – 53 BC to 51 BC * Caesar’s Civil War – 49 BC to 45 BC * Post-Caesarian Civil War – 44 BC * Liberator’s Civil War – 44 BC * Sicilian Revolt – 44 BC to 36 BC * Fulvia’s Civil War – 41 BC to 40 BC * Final War of the Roman Republic – 32 BC to 30 BC * Anthony’s Parthian War – 40 BC to 33 BC * Chinese War – 34 BC to 22 BC * Roman Conquest of Britian – 43 AD to 96 AD * Roman-Parthian War – 58 AD to 63 AD * Boudica’s Uprising – 60 to 61 * First Jewish-Roman War – 66 to 73 * First Dacian War – 101 to 102 * Second Dacian War – 105 to 106 * Kitos War – 115 to 117 * Bar Kokhba Revolt – 132 to 136 * Roman-Parthian War – 161 to 166 * Marcomannic Wars – 166 to 180 * Yellow Turban Rebellion – 184 to 205 *Campaign Against Dong Zhuo – 190 to 191 * Sun Ce’s Conquests in Jiangdong – 194 to 199 * Parthian War of Caracalla – 216 * Zhuge Liang’s Southern Campaign – 225 * Zhuge Liang’s Northern Expeditions – 228 to 234 * Jiang Wei’s Northern Expeditions – 247 to 262 * Conquest of Shu by Wei – 263 * Conquest of Wu by Jin – 279 to 280 * War of the Eight Princes – 291 to 306 * Gothic War – 376 to 382 * Roman- Sassanid War – 421 to 422 * Anastasian War – 502 to 506 * Iberian War – 526 to 532 * Iwai Rebellion – 527 * Vandalic War – 533 to 534 * War Against the Moors – 534 to 537 * Gothic War – 535 to 554 * Lazic War – 541 to 562 * Roman-Persian War – 572 to 591 * First Perso-Turkic War – 588 * Goguryeo-Sui Wars – 598 to 614 * Frisian-Frankish Wars – 600 to 793 * Byzantine-Sassanid War – 602 to 628 * Transition from Sui to Tang – 613 to 628 * Second Perso-Turkic War – 619 * Third Perso-Turkic War – 627 to 629 * Emperor Taizong’s Campaign Against Eastern Tujue - 629 to 630 * Ridda Wars – 632 to 633 * Muslim Conquest of Persia – 633 to 644 * Byzantine-Arab Wars – 634 to 1180 * Emperor Taizong’s Campaign Against Tuyuhun – 634 to 635 * Emperor Taizong’s Campaign Against Tufan – 638 * Muslim Conquest of Egypt – 639 to 642 * Emperor Taizong’s Campaign Against Xiyu States – 640 to 648 * Goguryeo-Tang War – 644 to 646 * Emperor Taizong’s Campaign Against Xueyantuo – 645 to 646 * Khazar-Arab Wars – 650 to 758 * The First Fitna – 656 to 661 * Silla-Tang Wars – 670 to 676 * Jinsin War – 672 * Byzntine-Bulgarian Wars – 680 to 1355 * The Second Fitna – 680 to 692 * Umayyad Conquest of Hispania – 711 to 718 * Frankish Civil War – 715 to 718 * Siege of Constantinople – 717 to 718 * Battle of Tours – 732 * Marwan ibn Muhannad’s Invasion of Georgia – 735 to 737 * Battle of Talas – 751 * 
An Lushan Rebellion – 755 to 763 * Saxon Wars – 772 to 804 * Croatian-Bulgarian Wars – 854 to 1000 * Zanj Rebellion – 869 to 883 * Battle of Lechfeld – 955 * Rus’-Byzantine War – 941 * War of the Three Henries – 977 to 978 * First Goryeo-Khitan War – 993 * Battle of Svolder – 999 * Second Goryeo-Khitan War – 1010 to 1011 * Battle of Clontarf – 1014 * Cnut the Great’s Conquest of England – 1015 to 1016 * Third Goryeo-Khitan War – 1018 to 1019 * Toi Invasion – 1019 * Battle of Stiklestad – 1030 * Rus’-Byzantine War – 1043 * Byzantine-Selijuq Wars – 1048 to 1308 * Zenkunen War – 1051 to 1063 * War of the Three Sanchos – 1065 to 1067 * Battle of Stamford Bridge – 1066 * Norman Conquest of England – 1066 to 1088 * Gosannen War – 1083 to 1089 * First Crusade – 1096 to 1099 * Crusade of 1101 – 1101 * Second Crusade – 1145 to 1149 * Northern Crusades – 1147 to 1242 * Hōgen Rebellion – 1156 * Heiji Rebellion – 1160 * Norman Invasion of Ireland – 1169 to 1175 * Battle of Jacob’s Ford – 1179 * Genpei War – 1180 to 1185 * Uprising of Asen and Peter – 1185 to 1204 * Third Crusade – 1189 to 1192 * Fourth Crusade – 1202 to 1204 * Mongol Conquests – 1206 to 1324 * Livonian Crusade – 1208 to 1227 * Albigensian Crusade – 1209 to 1229 * Fifth Crusade – 1213 to 1221 * Battle of Bouvines – 1214 * First Barons’ War – 1215 to 1217 * Sixth Crusade – 1228 to 1229 * First Prussian Uprising – 1242 to 1249 * Seventh Crusade – 1248 to 1254 * Great Prussian Uprising – 1260 to 1274 * Berke-Hulagu War – 1262 * Scottish-Norwegian War – 1262 to 1266 * Second Barons’ War – 1264 to 1267 * Battle of Benevento – 1266 * Eighth Crusade – 1270 * Ninth Crusade – 1271 to 1272 * War of the Sicilian Vespers – 1282 to 1302 * First War of Scottish Independence – 1296 to 1328 * Battle of the Golden Spurs – 1302 * Teutonic Takeover of Danzig (Gdańsk) – 1308 * Battle of Morgarten – 1315 * Irish-Bruce Wars – 1315 to 1318 * Swedish-Novgorodian Wars – 1321 to 1322 * Peasant Revolt in Flanders – 1323 to 1328 * Polish-Teutonic War – 1326 to 1332 * Genkō War – 1331 to 1333 * Second War of Scottish Independence – 1332 to 1357 * Hundred Years’ War – 1337 to 1453 * Breton War of Succession – 1341 to 1364 * Battle of Zava – 1342 * War of the Eight Saints – 1375 to 1378 * Battle of Kulikovo – 1380 * 1383-1385 Crisis – 1383 to 1385 * Tokhtamysh-Timur War – 1380s to Early 1390s * Forty Years’ War – 1385 – 1424 * Timur’s Invasions of Georgia – 1386 to 1404 * Battle of Ankara – 1402 * Fourth Chinese Domination – 1407 to 1427 * Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War – 1409 to 1411 * Ming-Kotte War – 1411 * Hunger War – 1414 * Ōei Invasion – 1419 * Hussite War – 1419 to 1434 * Siege of Constantinople – 1422 * Gollub War – 1422 * Wars in Lombardy – 1425 to 1454 * Polish-Teutonic War – 1431 to 1435 * Lithuanian Civil War – 1431 to 1435 * Battle of Torvioll – 1444 * Fall of Constantinople – 1453 *Thirteen Years’ War – 1454 to 1466 * Wars of the Roses – 1455 to 1485 * Siege of Belgrade – 1456 * The Night Attack – 1462 * Ōnin War – 1467 to 1477 * War of the Priests – 1467 to 1479 * Dano-Swedish War – 1470 to 1471 * Vietnamese Invasion of Champa – 1471 * Burgundian Wars – 1474 to 1477 * War of the Castilian Succession – 1475 to 1479 * Siege of Rhodes – 1480 * War of Ferrara – 1482 to 1484 * Granada War – 1482 to 1492 * First Muscovite-Lithuanian War – 1492 to 1494 * Italian War of 1494 – 1494 to 1498 * Russo-Swedish War – 1495 to 1497 * Italian War of 1499 – 1499 to 1504 * Swabian War – 1499 * Ottoman-Venetian War – 1499 to 1503 * Second Muscovite-Lithuanian War – 1500 to 1503 * Landshut War of Succussion – 1503 to 1505 * Portuguese-Mamluk Naval War – 1505 to 1517 * Third Muscovite-Lithuanian War – 1507 to 1508 * War of the League of Cambrai – 1508 to 1516 * Battle of Diu – 1509 * Ottoman Civil War – 1509 to 1512 * Hvar Rebellion – 1510 to 1514 * Portuguese Conquest of Goa – 1510 * Fourth Muscovite-Lithuanian War – 1512 to 1522 * Battle of Chaldiran – 1514 * Slovenian Peasant Revolt of 1515 – 1515 * Ottoman-Mamluk War – 1516 to 1517 * Polish-Teutonic War – 1592 to 1521 * Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire – 1519 to 1521 * Revolt of the Comuneros – 1520 to 1521 * Italian War of 1521 – 1521 to 1526 * Swedish War of Liberation – 1521 to 1523 * Siege of Rhodes – 1522 * German Peasants’ War – 1524 to 1526 * War of the League of Cognac – 1526 to 1530 * Battle of Mohács – 1526 * Spanish Conquest of Yucatán – 1527 to 1697 * Hungarian Campaign of 1527 – 1527 to 1528 * Ethiopian-Adal War – 1529 to 1543 * First War of Kappel – 1529 * Balkan Campaign of 1529 – 1529 * Siege of Vienna – 1529 * Inca Civil War – 1529 to 1532 * Little War in Hungary – 1539 to 1552 * Second War of Kappel – 1531 * Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire – 1531 to 1572 * Ottoman-Safavid War – 1532 to 1555 * Count’s Feud – 1534 to 1536 * Fifth Muscovite-Lithuanian War – 1534 to 1537 * Toungoo-Hanthawaddy War – 1535 to 1541 * Italian War of 1536 – 1536 to 1538 * Conquistador Civil War  in Peru – 1537 to 1548 * Italian War of 1542 – 1542 to 1546 * Dacke War – 1542 to 1543 * Schmalkaldic War – 1546 to 1547 * Burmese-Siamese War – 1548 * Italian War of 1551 – 1551 to 1559 * Kazan War – 1552 to 1556 * Siege of Kazan – 1552 * Russo-Swedish War – 1554 to 1557 * Livonian War – 1558 to 1583 * French Wars of Religion – 1562 to 1598 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1563 – 1563 to 1564 * Northern Seven Years’ War – 1563 to 1570 * Philippine Revolts against Spain – 1567 to 1872 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1568 – 1568 to 1569 * Morisco Revolt – 1568 to 1571 – Eighty Years’ War – 1568 to 1648 * First Desmond Rebellion – 1569 to 1573 * Rising of the North – 1569 to 1570 * Ottoman- Venetian War – 1570 to 1573 * Russo-Crimean War – 1571 * Croatian-Slovenian Peasant Revolt – 1573 * Ottoman-Safavid War – 1578 to 1590 * Second Desmond Rebellion – 1579 to 1583 * War of the Portuguese Succession – 1580 to 1583 * Ottoman-Portuguese Conflicts – 1580 to 1589 * Cologne War – 1583 to 1588 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1584 – 1584 to 1593 * Anglo-Spanish War – 1585 to 1604 * Russo-Swedish War of 1590 – 1590 to 1595 * Japanese Invasion of Korea – 1592 to 1598 * Long War – 1593 to 1606 * Moldavian Magnate Wars – 1593 to 1617 * Nine Years’ War – 1594 to 1603 * Cudel War – 1596 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1599 – 1599 to 1605 * Polish-Swedish War – 1600 to 1611 * Dutch-Portuguese War – 1602 to 1663 * Ottoman-Safavid War of 1603 – 1603 to 1618 * Capture of Tbilisi and Gökçe War – 1622 * Polish-Muscovite War of 1605 – 1605 to 1618 * War of the Jülich Succession – 1609 to 1614 * First Anglo-Powhatan War – 1610 to 1614 * Ingrian War – 1610 to 1617 * Kalmar War - 1611 to 1613 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1614 – 1614 to 1615 * Polish-Swedish War of 1617 – 1617 to 1618 * Thirty Years’ War – 1618 to 1648 * Ahom-Mughai Conflicts – 1619 to 1682 * Polish-Ottoman War -1620 to 1621 * Polish-Swedish War of 1621– 1621 to 1625 * Second Anglo-Powhatan War – 1622 to 1632 * Ottoman-Safavid War of 1623 – 1623 to 1639 * First Genoese-Savoyard War – 1625 * Polish-Swedish War of 1626 – 1626 to 1629 * First Manchu Invasion of Korea – 1627 * Smolensk War – 1623 to 1634 * Polish-Ottoman War of 1633 – 1633 to 1634 *Pequot War – 1634 to 1638 * Franco-Spanish War of 1635 – 1635 to 1659 * Second Manchu Invasion of Korea – 1636 to 1637 * First Bishops’ War – 1639 * Second Bishops’ War – 1640 * Catalan Revolt – 1640 to 1659 * Portuguese Restoration War – 1640 to 1668 * Beaver Wars – 1640 to 1710 * Irish Confederate Wars – 1641 to 1653 * First War of Castro – 1641 to 1644 * First English Civil War – 1642 to 1646 * Torstenson War – 1643 to 1645 * Kieft’s War – 1643 to 1645 * Third Anglo-Powhatan War – 1644 to 1646 * Char Bouba War – 1644 to 1674 * Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms – 1644 to 1651 * Cretan War – 1645 to 1669 * Khmelnytsky Uprising – 1648 to 1657 * First Fronde – 1648 to 1649 * Second English Civil War – 1648 to 1649 * Third English Civil War – 1649 to 1651 * Mughal-Safavid War – 1649 to 1653 * Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland – 1649 to 1653 * Second War of Castro – 1649 * Second Fronde – 1650 to 1653 * Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years’ War – 1651 to 1986 * First Anglo-Dutch War – 1652 to 1654 * Russian-Manchu Border Conflicts – 1652 to 1689 * Russo-Polish War of 1654 – 1654 to 1667 *Anglo-Spanish War 1654 – 1654 to 1660 * Peach Tree War – 1655 * Second Northern War – 1655 to 1660 * Russo-Swedish War of 1656 – 1656 to 1658 * Dano-Swedish War of 1657 – 1657 to 1658 * Dano-Swedish War of 1658 – 1658 to 1660 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1662 – 1662 to 1665 * Austro-Turkish War – 1663 to 1664 * Second Anglo-Dutch War – 1665 to 1667 * Kongo Civil War – 1665 to 1709 * Polish-Cossack-Tartar War – 1666 to 1671 * War of Devolution – 1667 to 1668 * Stenka Razin Rebellion – 1670 to 1671 * Polish-Ottoman War of 1672 – 1672 to 1676 * Third Anglo-Dutch War – 1672 to 1674 * Revolt of the Three Feudatories – 1673 to 1681 * Scanian War – 1675 to 1679 * King Philip’s War – 1675 to 1576 * Russo-Turkish War of 1676 – 1676 to 1681 * Maratha War of Independence – 1681 to 1707 * Great Turkish War – 1683 to 1699 * Polish-Ottoman War of 1683 – 1683 to 1699 * War of the Reunions – 1683 to 1684 * Morean War – 1684 to 1699 * Monmouth Rebellion – 1685 * Russo-Turkish War of 1686 – 1686 to 1700 * Crimean Campaigns – 1687 to 1689 * Nine Years’ War – 1688 to 1697 * King William’s War – 1689 to 1697 * Williamite War in Ireland – 1689 to 1691 * Scottish Jacobite Rising – 1689 to 1692 * Azov Campaigns – 1695 to 1696 * Darien Scheme – 1699 to 1700 * Great Northern War – 1700 to 1721 * Battle of Dartsedo – 1701 * War of the Spanish Succession – 1701 to 1714 * Queen Anne’s War – 1702 to 1713 * Camisard Rebellion – 1702 to 1715 * Rákóczi’s War for Independence – 1703 to 1711 * Bulavin Rebellion – 1707 to 1708 * Russo-Turkish War of 1710 – 1710 to 1711 * Tuscarora War – 1711 to 1715 * First Fox War – 1712 to 1716 * Ottoman- Venetian War of 1714 – 17 14 to 1718 * Yamasee War – 1715 to 1717 * First Jacobite Rising – 1715 * War of the Quadruple Alliance – 1718 to 1720 * Chickasaw Wars – 1721 to 1763 * Dummer’s War – 1722 to 1725 * Russo-Persian War of 1722 – 1722 to 1723 * Second Fox War – 1728 to 1733 * War of the Polish Succession – 1733 to 1738 * Miao Rebellion – 1735 to 1736 * Russo-Austrian-Turkish War of 1735 – 1735 to 1739 * War of Jenkins’ Ear – 1739 to 1748 * First Silesian War – 1740 to 1742 * Russo-Swedish War of 1741 – 1741 to 1743 * King George’s War – 1744 to 1748 * Second Silesian War – 1744 to 1745 * Jacobite Rising of 1745 – 1745 to 1746 * First Carnatic War – 1746 to 1748 * Second Carnatic War – 1749 to 1754 * Konbaung-Hanthawaddy War– 1752 to 1757 * French and Indian War – 1754 to 1763 * Seven Years’ War – 1756 to 1763 * Third Silesian War – 1756 to 1763 * Third Carnatic War – 1757 to 1763 * Anglo-Cherokee War – 1758 to 1761 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1759 – 1759 to 1760 * Spanish-Portuguese War of 1761 – 1761 to 1763 * Pontiac’s War – 1763 to 1766 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1765 – 1765 to 1767 * Sino-Burmese War – 1965 to 1769 * First Anglo-Mysore War – 1766 to 1769 * Louisiana Rebellion of 1768 – 1768 * Russo-Turkish War of 1768 – 1768 to 1774 * Bar Confederation – 1768 to 1772 * Pugachev’s Rebellion – 1774 to 1775 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1775 – 1775 to 1776 * First Anglo-Maratha War – 1775 to 1782 * American Revolutionary War – 1775 to 1783 * Chickamauga Wars – 1776 to 1794 * War of the Bavarian Succession – 1778 to 1779 * Anglo-Spanish War – 1779 to 1783 * First Xhosa War – 1779 to 1781 * Fourth Anglo-Dutch War – 1780 to 1784 * Second Anglo-Mysore War – 1780 to 1784 * Revolt of the Comuneros – 1781 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1785 – 1785 to 1786  * Northwest Indian War – 1785 to 1795 * Shays’ Rebellion – 1786 to 1787 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1787 – 1787 * Austro-Turkish War of 1787 – 1787 to 1791 * Russo-Turkish War of 1787 – 1787 to 1792 * Russo-Swedish War of 1788 – 1788 to 1790 * Theater War – 1788 to 1789 * Australian Frontier Wars – 1788 to 1930’s * Third Anglo-Mysore War – 1789 to 1792 * Second Xhosa War – 1789 to 1793 * Haitian Revolution – 1791 to 1804 * Whiskey Rebellion – 1791 to 1794 * Polish-Russian War of 1792 – 1792 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1792 – 1792 * War of the First Coalition – 1792 to 1797 * War in the Vendée – 1793 to 1796 * Nickajack Expedition – 1794 * Kościuszko Uprising – 1794 * Miao Rebellion of 1795 – 1795 to 1806 * Persian Expedition of 1796 – 1796 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1797 – 1797 * War of the Second Coalition – 1798 to 1802 * Quasi War – 1798 to 1800 * Irish Rebellion of 1798 – 1798 * Fourth Anglo-Mysore War – 1798 to 1799 * Third Xhosa War – 1799 to 1803 * War of Knives – 1799 to 1800 * First Barbary War – 1801 to 1805 * War of the Oranges – 1801 * Second War of Haitian Independence – 1802 to 1805 * Second Anglo-Maratha War – 1802 to 1805 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1803 – 1803 to 1804 * First Kandyan War – 1803 to 1805 * Emmet’s Insurrection – 1803 * War of the Third Coalition -1803 to 1806 * Battle of Sitka – 1804 * First Siberian Uprising – 1804 to 1813 * Castle Hill Convict Rebellion – 1804 * Fulani War – 1804 to 1808 * Russo-Persian War of 1804 – 1804 to 1813 * Egyptian Revolution – 1805 to 1811 * Janissarie’s Revolt – 1805 * Franco-Swedish War of 1805 – 1805 to 1810 * Haitian Invasion of Santo Domingo – 1805 * War of the Fourth Coalition – 1806 to 1807 * Russo-Turkish War of 1806 – 1806 to 1812 * British Invasions of the Rio de la Plata – 1806 to 1807 * Ashanti-Fante War – 1806 to 1807 * War of Christophe’s Secession – 1806 to 1811 * Vellore Mutiny – 1806 to 1811 * Janissaries’ Revolt – 1807 to 1808 * Mtetwa Empire Expansion – 1807 to 1818 * Peninsular War – 1807 to 1814 * Gunboat War – 1807 to 1814 * Anglo-Russian War of 1807 – 1807 to 1812 * Anglo-Turkish War of 1807 – 1807 to 1809 * Rum Rebellion – 1808 to 1810 * Finnish War – 1809 to 1809 * Spanish Restoration in Santo Domingo – 1808 to 1809 * Bantam Conquest – 1808 * Dano-Swedish War of 1808 – 1808 to 1809 * War of the Fifth Coalition – 1809 * Quinto Revolution – 1809 to 1810 * Tyrol Rebellion – 1809 to 1810 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1809 – 1809 to 1812 * Bolivian War of Independence – 1809 to 1825 * Peruvian War of Independence – 1809 to 1824 * Tecumseh’s War – 1810 to 1811 * US Occupation of West Florida – 1810 * Merina Conquest of Madagascar – 1810 to 1817 * Punjab War – 1810 to 1820 * Chilean War of Independence – 1810 to 1826 * Conquest of Hawaii – 1810 * Amadu’s Jihad – 1810 to 1818 * Lamu Expansion – 1810 to 1813 * Mexican War of Independence – 1810 to 1821 * Invasion of Java – 1811 * Tonquin Incident – 1811 * Fourth Xhosa War – 1811 to 1812 * Ga-Fante War – 1811 * Arakanese Uprising – 1811 to 1815 * Battle of Las Piedras – 1811 * Cambodian Rebellion – 1811 to 1812 * Korean Revolt – 1811 to 1812 * Paraguayan Revolt – 1811 * Owe-Ife War – 1811 to 1812 * Ottoman-Saudi War – 1811 to 1818 * Venezuelan War of Independence – 1811 to 1823 * French Invasion of Russia – 1812 * War of the Sixth Coalition – 1812 to 1814 * War of 1812 – 1812 to 1815 * Creek War – 1813 to 1814 * Peoria War – 1813 * Swedish-Norwegian War of 1814 – 1814 * Gurkha War – 1814 to 1816 * Ashanti-Akim-Akwapim War – 1814 to 1816 * Hadži Prodan’s Revolt – 1814 * Argentine Civil Wars – 1814 to 1876 * Second Barbary War – 1815 * Second Serbian Uprising – 1815 to 1817 * Spanish Conquest of New Granada – 1815 to 1816 * Second Kandyan War – 1815 * Hundred Days War – 1815 * Neapolitan War – 1815 * Temne-Susu War – 1815 * Caucasian War – 1817 to 1864 * Third Anglo-Maratha War – 1817 to 1818 * Ndwandwe-Zulu War – 1817 to 1819 * First Seminole War – 1817 to 1818 * Pernambucan Revolt –1817 * Fifth Xhosa War – 1818 to 1819 * Zulu Wars of Conquest – 1818 to 1828 * Bolivar’s Campaign to Liberate New Granada – 1819 to 1820 * Trienio Liberal – 1820 to 1823 * Ottoman-Persian War of 1821 – 1821 to 1823 * Texan-Indian Wars – 1820 to 1875 * Brazilian War of Independence – 1821 to 1823 * Greek War of Independence – 1821 to 1832 * Padri War – 1821 to 1837 * Spanish Conquest of Mexico – 1821 to 1829 * Comanche-Mexico War – 1821 to 1848 * Haitian Occupation of Santo Domingo – 1822 to 1844 * First Anglo-Ashanti War – 1823 to 1826 * First Anglo-Burmese War – 1823 to 1826 * Decembrist Revolt – 1825 * Cisplatine War – 1825 to 1828 * Java War – 1825 to 1830 * Franco-Trarzan War of 1825 – 1825 * Russo-Persian War of 1826 – 1826 to 1828 * Winnebago War – 1827 * Gran Colombia-Peru War – 1828 to 1829 * Liberal Wars – 1828 to 1834 * Russo-Turkish War of 1828 – 1828 to 1829 * Chilean Civil War of 1829 – 1829 * November Uprising – 1830 to 1831 * Belgian Revolution – 1830 to 1831 * French Conquest of Algeria – 1830 to 1847 * First Siamese-Vietnamese War – 1831 to 1834 * Baptist War – 1831 to 1832 * Egyptian-Ottoman War of 1831 – 1831 to 1833 * Black Hawk War – 1832 * First Carlist War – 1833 to 1840 * Sixth Xhosa War – 1834 to 1836 * Malê Revolt – 1835 * Toledo War – 1835 to 1836 * Texas Revolution – 1835 to 1836 * Second Seminole War – 1835 to 1842 * War of the Farrapos – 1835 to 1845 * War of the Confederation – 1836 to 1839 * Lower Canada Rebellion – 1837 to 1838 * Upper Canada Rebellion – 1837 to 1838 * Battle of Blood River – 1838 * Mormon War – 1838 * Pastry War – 1838 to 1839 * Aroostook War – 1838 to 1839 * Honey War – 1839 * First Anglo-Afghan War – 1839 to 1842 * First Opium War – 1839 to 1842 * Uruguayan Civil War – 1839 to 1850 * Sino-Sikh War – 1841 to 1842 * Dorr Rebellion – 1841 to 1842 * Wairau Affray – 1843 * Dominican War of Independence – 1843 to 1849 * Franco-Moroccan War – 1844 * First Anglo-Sikh War – 1845 to 1846 * Flagstaff War – 1845 to 1846 * Navajo Wars – 1846 to 1864 * Hutt Valley Campaign – 1846 * Dutch Intervention in Northern Bali – 1846 * Seventh Xhosa War – 1846 to 1847 * Second Carlist War – 1846 to 1848 * Mexican-American War – 1846 to 1848 * Wanganui Campaign – 1846 to 1848 * Caste War of Yucatan – 1847 * Cayuse War – 1847 to 1855 * Praieira Revolt – 1848 to 1849 * Greater Poland Uprising – 1848 * French Revolution of 1848 – 1848 * Revolutions of 1848 in the German States – 1848 * Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg Areas – 1848 to 1849 * Wallachian Revolution of 1848 – 1848 * Sicilian Revolution of Independence of 1848  - 1848 * Dutch Intervention in Northern Bali – 1848 * First Italian War of Independence – 1848 to 1849 * Second Anglo-Sikh War – 1848 to 1849 * Hungarian Revolution of 1848 – 1848 to 1849 * First Schleswig War – 1848 to 1851 * Dutch Intervention in Bali of 1849 – 1849 to 1850 * Burmese-Siamese War of 1849 – 1849 to 1855 * Apache Wars – 1849 to 1924 * Taiping Rebellion – 1850 to 1864 * Eighth Xhosa War – 1850 to 1853 * Platine War – 1851 to 1852 * Second Anglo-Burmese War – 1852 to 1853 * Miao Rebellion – 1853 to 1874 * Crimean War – 1853 to 1856 * French Conquest of Senegal – 1854 to 1860 * Bleeding Kansas – 1854 to 1861 * Nepalese-Tibetan War – 1855 to 1856 * Yakima War – 1855 to 1858 * Rogue River Wars – 1855 to 1856 * Battle of Ash Hollow – 1855 * Puget Sound War – 1855 to 1856 * Punti-Hakka Clan Wars – 1855 to 1867 * Third Seminole War – 1855 to 1858 * Campaign of 1856-1857 * 1856 to 1857 * Second Opium War – 1856 to 1860 * Anglo-Persian War – 1856 to 1857 * Panthay Rebellion – 1856 to 1873 * 1857 Cheyenne Expedition – 1856 to 1857 * Indian Rebellion of 1857 – 1857 to 1858 * Utah War – 1857 to 1858 * Ecuadorian-Peruvian Territorial Dispute of 1857 – 1857 to 1860 * Coeur d’Alene War – 1858 * Fraser Canyon War – 1858 * Cochinchina Campaign – 1858 to 1862 * Second Italian War of Independence – 1859 * Federal War * 1859 to 1863 * Hispano-Moroccan War of 1859 – 1859 to 1860 * Russian Conquests of Central Asia – 1860 to 1873 * First Taranaki War – 1860 to 1861 * Occupation of Araucanía – 1861 -1883 * American Civil War – 1861 to 1865 * French Intervention in Mexico – 1861 to 1867 * Dakota War of 1862 – 1862 * Dungan Revolt – 1862 to 1877 * Ecuadorian-Colombian War – 1863 * Dominican Restoration War – 1863 to 1865 * Naval Battle of Shimonoseki – 1863 * Bombardments of Shimonoseki – 1863 to 1864 * Bombardment of Kagoshima – 1863 * January Uprising – 1863 to 1865 * Invasion of Waikato – 1863 to 1864 * Colorado War – 1863 to 1865 * Second Anglo-Ashanti War – 1863 to 1864 * Second Taranaki War – 1863 to 1866 * Uruguayan War – 1864 to 1865 * Mito Rebellion – 1864 to 1865 * Hamaguri Rebellion – 1864 to 1865 * Second Schleswig War – 1864 *Tauranga Campaign – 1864 * Bhutan War – 1864 to 1865 * Snake War – 1864 to 1868 * Russo-Kokandian War – 1864 to 1865 * Paraguayan War – 1864 to 1870 * Chincha Islands War – 1864 to 1866 * Powder River Expedition of 1865 – 1865 * Morant Bay Rebellion – 1865 * Hualapai War – 1865 to 1870 * Basuto-Boer War – 1865 to 1868 * Bukharan-Kokandian War of 1865 – 1865 to 1866 * East Cape War – 1865 to 1868 * Russo-Bukharan Wars – 1865 to 1868 * Hyogo Naval Expedition – 1865 * Second Choshu Expedition – 1866 * Austro-Prussian War – 1866 * Third Italian War of Independence – 1866 to 1868 * Red Cloud’s War – 1866 to 1868 * Cretan Revolt – 1866 to 1869 * French Campaign Against Korea – 1866 * Comanche Campaign – 1867 to 1875 * Klang War – 1867 to 1874 * Glorious Revolution – 1868 * Titokowaru’s War – 1868 to 1869 * Boshin War – 1868 to 1869 * Abyssinian Succession – 1868 to 1872 * Te Kooti’s War – 1868 to 1872 * Ten Years’ War – 1868 to 1878 * Haitian Revolution of 1869 – 1869 * United States Expedition to Korea – 1871 * Third Carlist War – 1872 to 1876 * Modoc War – 1872 to 1873 * Aceh War – 1879 to 1913 * Third Anglo-Ashanti War – 1873 to 1874 * Cantonal Revolution – 1873 to 1874 * Brooks-Baxter War – 1874 * Saga Rebellion – 1874 * Red River War – 1874 to 1875 * Shinpuren Rebellion – 1876 * Akizuki Rebellion * 1876 * Hagi Rebellion – 1876 * Great Sioux War of 1876 – 1876 to 1877 * Nex Perce War – 1877 * Satsuma Rebellion – 1877 * Ninth Xhosa War – 1877 to 1879 * Russo-Turkish War of 1877 – 1877 to 1878 * Bannock War – 1878 * Lincoln County War – 1878 * Cheyenne War – 1878 to 1879 * Second Anglo-Afghan War – 1878 to 1880 * Little War – 1879 to 1880 * Anglo-Zulu War – 1879 * War of the Pacific – 1879 to 1884 * Sheepeater Indian War – 1879 * Victorio’s War – 1879 to 1880 * Basuto Gun War – 1880 to 1881 * First Boer War – 1880 to 1882 * French Occupation of Tunisia – 1881 * Mahdist War – 1881 to 1899 * Mandingo Wars – 1882 to 1898 * Ekumeku War – 1883 to 1914 * First Madagascar Expedition – 1883 to 1885 * Tonkin Campaign – 1883 to 1886 * Sino-French War – 1884 to 1885 * North-West Rebellion – 1885 * Serbo-Bulgarian War – 1885 * Third Anglo-Burmese War – 1885 * Sikkim Expedition – 1888 * Pine Ridge Campaign – 1890 to 1891 * Chilean Civil War – 1891 * Second Franco-Dahomean War – 1892 to 1894 * War in the Eastern Congo – 1892 to 1894 * War of Canudos – 1893 to 1897 * Revolta da Armada – 1893 to 1894 * Franco-Siamese War of 1893 – 1893 * Conquest of the Bornu Empire – 1893 * First Melillan Campaign – 1893 to 1994 * First Matabele War – 1893 to 1894 * Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War – 1894 to 1896 * Donghak Peasant Revolution – 1894 * First Sino-Japanese War – 1894 to 1895 * Second Madagascar Expedition – 1894 to 1895 * First Italo-Ethiopian War – 1895 to 1896 * Cuban War of Independence – 1895 to 1898 * Japanese Invasion of Taiwan – 1895 * Anglo-Zanzibar War – 1896 * Philippine Revolution – 1896 to 1898 * Second Matabele War – 1896 to 1897 * Greco-Turkish War of 1897 – 1897 * Benin Expedition – 1897 * Tirah Campaign – 1897 to 1898 * Spanish-American War – 1898 * Voulet-Chanoine Mission – 1898 to 1900 * Boxer Rebellion – 1899 to 1901 * Second Boer War – 1899 to 1902 * Thousand Day’s War – 1899 to 1902 * Philippine-American War – 1899 to 1913 * War of the Golden Stool – 1900 * Anglo-Aro War – 1901 to 1902 * Bailundo Revolt of 1902 – 1902 to 1903 * Unification of Saudi Arabia War – 1902 to 1932 * British Expedition to Tibet – 1903 to 1904 * Herero War – 1904 to 1907 * Russo-Japanese War – 1904 to 1905 * 1905 Russian Revolution – 1905 * Dutch Intervention in Bali – 1906 * Bambatha Rebellion – 1906 * Romanian Peasants’ Revolt – 1907 * Honduran-Nicaraguan War – 1907 * Dutch Intervention in Bali of 1908 – 1908 * Persian Civil War * 1908 to 1909 * Dutch-Venezuela War – 1908 * Second Melillan Campaign – 1909 to 1910 * Wadai War – 1909 to 1911 * Mexican Revolution – 1910 to 1920 * Border War – 1910 to 1919 * French Conquest of Morocco – 1911 to 1912 * Italo-Turkish War – 1911 to 1912 * Xinhai Revolution of 1911 – 1911 to 1912 * First Balkan War – 1912 – 1913 * Contestado War * 1912 to 1916 * United States Occupation of Nicaragua – 1912 to 1933 * Negro Rebellion – 1912 * Second Balkan War – 1913 * Zaian War – 1914 to 1921 * World War I – 1914 to 1919 * United States Occupation of Veracruz – 1914 * Maritz Rebellion – 1914 to 1915 * United States Occupation of Haiti – 1915 to 1934 * Senussi Campaign – 1915 to 1917 * National Protection War – 1915 to 1916 * Kaocen Revolt – 1916 to 1917 * Easter Rising – 1916 * United States Occupation of the Dominican Republic – 1916 to 1924 * Arab Revolt – 1916 to 1918 * February Revolution – 1917 * October Revolution – 1917 * Russian Civil War * 1917 to 1923 * Soviet-Turkish War of 1917 – 1917 to 1918 *Ukrainian War of Independence – 1917 to 1921 * Finnish Civil War – 1918 * Georgian-Armenian War – 1918 * German Revolution – 1918 to 1919 * Greater Poland Uprising – 1918 to 1919 * Polish-Ukrainian War – 1918 to 1919 * Georgian-Ossetian Conflict – 1918 to 1920 * Armenian-Azerbaijani War – 1918 to 1920 * Estonian War of Independence – 1918 to 1920 * Latvian War of Independence – 1918 to 1920 * Lithuanian-Soviet War – 1918 to 1919 * First Saudi-Hashemite War – 1918 to 1919 * Lithuanian War of Independence Against the Bermontians – 1919 * Polish-Czechoslovak War – 1919 * Hungarian-Romanian War of 1919 – 1919 * Turkish War of Independence – 1919 to 1922 * Third Anglo-Afghan War – 1919 * Portuguese Monarchist Civil War – 1919 * Italo-Yugoslav War – 1919 to 1920 * Polish-Soviet War – 1919 to 1921 * First Silesian Uprising – 1919 * Irish War of Independence – 1919 to 1921 * Greco-Turkish War of 1919 – 1919 to 1922 * Franco-Syrian War – 1920 * Franco-Turkish War – 1920 to 1921 * Vlora War – 1920 * Rif War – 1920 to 1926 * Polish-Lithuanian War – 1920 * Second Silesian Uprising – 1920 * Turkish-Armenian War – 1920 * Zhili-Anhui War – 1920 * Guangdong-Guangxi War – 1920 to 1921 * Red Army Invasion of Georgia – 1921 * Third Silesian Uprising – 1921 * Iranian Events of 1921 – 1921 * East Karelian Uprising – 1921 to 1922 * First Zhili-Fengtian War – 1922 * Irish Civil War – 1922 to 1923 * August Uprising – 1924 *Second Saud-Sharif War – 1924 * Second Zhili-Fengtian War – 1924 * Incident at Petrich – 1925 * Northern Expedition – 1926 to 1928 * Cristero War – 1926 to 1929 * Chinese Civil War – 1927 to 1950 * Afghan Civil War – 1928 to 1929 * Sino-Soviet Conflict – 1929 * Igbo Women’s War – 1929 to 1930 * Yen Bai Mutiny – 1930 * Central Plains War – 1930 * Sino-Tibetan War – 1930 to 1932 * Japanese Invasion of Manchuria – 1931 to 1932 * Kumul Rebellion – 1931 to 1934 * Constitutionalist Revolution – 1932 * Ecuadorian Civil War – 1932 * Shanghai War of 1932 – 1932 * Chaco War – 1932 to 1935 * Columbia-Peru War – 1932 to 1933 * Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang – 1934 * Austrian Civil War – 1934 * Saudi-Yemeni War – 1934 * Second Italo-Abyssinian War – 1935 to 1936 * Great Arab Revolt in Palestine – 1936 to 1939 * Spanish Civil War – 1936 to 1939 * Islamic Rebellion in Xinjiang of 1937 – 1937 * Second Sino-Japanese War – 1937 to 1945 * Battle of Lake Khasan – 1938 * Hungarian Invasion of the Carpatho-Ukraine – 1939 * Slovak-Hungarian War – 1939 * Italian Invasion of Albania – 1939 * Battle of Khalkhin Gol – 1939 * World War II – 1939 to 1945 * Winter War – 1939 to 1940 * Franco-Thai War – 1940 to 1941 * Ecuadorian-Peruvian War – 1941 * Anglo-Iraqi War – 1941 * Continuation War – 1941 to 1944 * Ukrainian Insurgent Army Insurgency – 1943 to 1949 * Jewish Insurgency in Palestine – 1944 to 1947 * Guerilla War in the Baltic States – 1944 to 1953 * Lapland War -  1944 to 19454 * Ili Rebellion – 1944 to 1949 * War in Vietnam of 1945  - 1945 to 1946 * Indonesian National Revolution – 1945 to 1949 * Iran Crisis of 1946 – 1945 to 1946 * First Indochina War – 1946 to 1954 * Greek Civil War – 1946 to 1949 * Paraguayan Civil War – 1947 * Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 – 1947 to 1948 * 1947-1948 Civil war in Mandatory Palestine – 1947 to 1948 * Pre-Korean War Insurgency – 1948 to 1950 * 1948 Arab-Israeli War – 1948 to 1949 * Costa Rican Civil War – 1948 * Internal Conflict in Burma – 1948 to Present - * Malayan Emergency – 1948 to 1960 * Operation Polo – 1948 * Invasion of Tibet – 1950 to 1951 * Korean War – 1950 to 1953 * Kuomintang Islamic Insurgency in China – 1950 to 1958 * Retribution Operations of Israel – 1950 to 1967 *Tunisian War of Independence – 1952 to 1956 * Mau Mau Uprising – 1952 to 1960 * 1953 Iranian Coup d’état – 1953 * Cuban Revolution – 1953 to 1959 * Laotian Civil War – 1953 to 1975 * Jebel Akhdar War – 1954 to 1959 * Algerian War * 1954 to 1962 * First Sudanese Civil War – 1955 to 1972 * Vietnam War – 1955 to 1975 * Hungarian Revolution of 1956 – 1956 * Suez Crisis – 1956 * Ifni War – 1957 to 1958 * North Vietnamese Invasion of Laos – 1958 to 1959 * Tibetan Uprising – 1959 * Basque Conflict – 1959 to 2011 * Campaign at the China-Burma Border – 1960 to 1961 * Congo Crisis – 1960- to 1966 * Guatemalan Civil War – 1960 to 1996 * First Kurdish-Iraqi War – 1961 to 1970 * Bay of Pigs Invasion – 1961 * Bizerte Crisis – 1961 * Eritrean War of Independence – 1961 to 1991 * Invasion of Goa – 1961 * Angolan War of Independence – 1961 to 1975 * Tuareg Rebellion of 1962 – 1962 to 1964 * North Yemen Civil War – 1962 to 1970 * Sino-Indian War – 1962 * Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation – 1962 to 1966 * Dhofar Rebellion – 1962 to 1976 * Shifta War – 1963 to 1967 * Sand War – 1963 * Guinea-Bissau War of Independence – 1963 to 1974 * Rhodesian Bush War – 1964 to 1979 * Colombian Armed Conflict – 1964 to Present * Mozambican War of Independence – 1964 to 1974 * Insurgency in Northeast India – 1964 to Present * Zanzibar Revolution – 1964 * Dominican Civil War – 1965 * United States Occupation of the Dominican Republic – 1965 to 1966 * Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 – 1965 * Civil War in Chad – 1965 to 1979 * Korean DMZ Conflict – 1966 to 1969 * South African Border War – 1966 to 1989 * Nambian War of Independence – 1966 to 1988 * Six-Day War – 1967 * Cambodian Civil War – 1967 to 1975 * Nigerian Civil War – 1967 to 1970 * Chola Incident – 1967 * War of Attrition – 1968 to 1970 * Naxalite-Maoist Insurgency – 1967 to Present * Communist Insurgency War – 1968 to 1989 * The Troubles – 1968 to 1998 * Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia – 1968 * Islamic Insurgency in the Philippines – 1969 to Present * Football War – 1969 * Sino-Soviet Border Conflict – 1969 * Papua Conflict – 1969 to Present * Black September in Jordan – 1970 to 1971 * Bangladesh Liberation War – 1971 * Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 – 1971 * First Eritrean Civil War – 1972 to 1974 * Yom Kippur War – 1973 * Turkish Invasion of Cyprus – 1974 * Ethiopian Civil War – 1974 to 1991 * Second Kurdish-Iraqi War – 1974 to 1975 * Angolan Civil War – 1975 to 2002 * Western Sahara War – 1975 to 1991 * Lebanese Civil War – 1975 to 1990 * Cambodian-Vietnamese War – 1975 to 1989 * Insurgency in Laos – 1975 to Present * Indonesian Invasion of East Timor – 1975 * Dirty War – 1976 to 1893 * Insurgency in Aceh – 1976 to 2005 * Mozambican Civil War – 1977 to 1992 * Libyan-Egyptian War – 1977 * Shaba I – 1977 * Shaba II – 1978 * 1978 South Lebanon Conflict – 1978 * Uganda-Tanzania War – 1978 to 1979 * Chadian-Libyan Conflict – 1978 to 1987 * Kurdish-Turkish Conflict – 1978 to Present * Sino-Vietnamese War – 1979 * Sino-Vietnamese Conflicts – 1979 to 1990 * 1979 Kurdish Rebellion in Iran – 1979 to 1983 * Civil War in Chad – 1979 to 1982 * Soviet War in Afghanistan – 1979 to 1989 * Salvadoran Civil War – 1980 to 1992 * Internal Conflict in Peru – 1980 to 2000 * Iran-Iraq War – 1980 to 1988 * Second Eritrean Civil War – 1980 to 1981 * Paquisha War – 1981 * Ugandan Bush War – 1981 to 1986 * Falklands War – 1982 * Ndogboyosoi War – 1982 * 1982 Lebanon War – 1982 * South Lebanon Conflict – 1982 to 2000 * 1982 Ethiopian-Somali Border War – 1982 * Invasion of Grenaa of 1983 – 1983  * Sri Lankan Civil War – 1983 to 2009 * Second Sudanese Civil War – 1983 to 2005 * Kurdish Rebellion of 1983 – 1983 to 1988 * Siachen Conflict * 1984 to 1987 * Agacher Strip War – 1985 * 1987 Sino-Indian Skirmish – 1987 * First Intifada – 1987 to 1993 * Thai-Laotian Border War – 1987 to 1988 * Lord’s Resistance Army Insurgency – 1987 to Present * Nagorno-Karabakh War – 1988 to 1994 * Mauritania-Senegal Border War – 1989 to 1991 * United States Invasion of Panama – 1989 to 1990 * Civil War in Afghanistan – 1989 to 1992 * Romanian Revolution of 1989 – 1989 * First Liberian Civil War – 1989 to 1996 * Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir – 1989 to Present * Invasion of Kuwait – 1990 * Persian Gulf War – 1990 to 1991 * Rwandan Civil War – 1990 to 1993 * Tuareg Rebellion – 1990 to 1995 * Ten-Day War – 1991 * 1991 South Ossetia War – 1991 to 1992 * Djiboutian Civil War – 1991 to 1994 * Croatian War of Independence – 1991 to 1995 * Sierra Leone Civil War – 1991 to 2002 * Algerian Civil War – 1991 to 2002 * Somali Civil War – 1991 to Present * Georgian Civil War – 1991 to 1993 * 1991 Uprising in Iraq – 1991 * East Prigorodny Conflict – 1992 * Civil War in Afghanistan of 1992 – 1992 to 1996 * War of Transnistria – 1992 * War in Abkhazia – 1992 to 1993 * Bosnian War – 1992 to 1995 * Croat-Bosniak War – 1992 to 1994 * Civil War in Tajikistan – 1992 to 1997 * Burundi Civil War – 1993 to 2005 * Ethnic Conflict in Nagaland – 1993 to Present * Iraqi Kurdish Civil War – 1994 to 1997 * Chiapas Conflict – 1994 * Civil War in Yemen – 1994 * First Chechen War – 1994 to 1996 * Caprivi Conflict – 1994 to 1997 * Cenepa War – 1995 * Insurgency in Ogaden – 1995 top 2009 * Nepalese Civil War – 1996 to 2001 * Civil War in Afghanistan of 1996 – 1996 to 2001 * First Congo War – 1996 to 1997 * Rebellion in Albania – 1997 * Republic of the Congo Civil War – 1997 to 1999 * 1997 Clashes in Cambodia – 1997 * Pool Department Insurgency – 1997 to 2008 * War in Abkhazia – 1998 * Civil War in Chad of 1998 – 1998 to 2002 * Kosovo War – 1998 to 1999 * Eritrean-Ethiopian War – 1998 to 2000 * Second Congo War – 1998 to 2003 * Guinea-Bissau Civil War – 1998 to 1999 * Kargil War – 1999 * 1999 East Timorese Crisis – 1999 to 2000 * Insurgency in the Preševo Valley – 1999 to 2000 * Second Liberian Civil War – 1999 to 2003 * Ituri Conflict – 1999 to 2007 * Invasion of Dagestan – 1999 * Second Chechen War – 1999 to 2009 * Second Intifada – 2000 to 2005 * 2001 Indian-Bangladeshi Border Conflict – 2001 * Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia – 2001 * War in Afghanistan – 2001 to 2021 * Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines – 2002 to 2014 * Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa – 2002 to 2014 * Operation Defensive Shield – 2002 * First Ivorian Civil War – 2002 to 2007 * Insurgency in the Maghreb – 2002 to Present * War in Darfur – 2003 to 2010 * Iraq War – 2003 to 2011  * Balochistan Conflict – 2003 to Present * War in North-West Pakistan – 2004 to Present * Central African Republic Bush War – 2004 to 2007 * Conflict in the Niger Delta – 2004 to Present * Shia Insurgency in Yemen – 2004 to 2014 * South Thailand Insurgency – 2004 to Present * Kivu Conflict – 2004 to 2009 * Civil War in Chad of 2005 – 2005 to 2010 * Mount Elgon Insurgency – 2005 to 2008 * Fatah-Hamas Conflict – 2006 to 2011 * 2006 Lebanon War – 2006 * Mexican Drug War – 2006 to Present * War in Somalia of 2006 – 2006 to 2009 * Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara – 2007 to 2014 * Operation Juniper Shield – 2007 to Present * Tuareg Rebellion of 2007 - 2007 to 2009 * Civil War in the Republic of Ingushetia – 2007 to 2015 * 2008 Invasion of Anjouan – 2008 * Lebanon Conflict of 2008 – 2008 * Cambodian-Thai Border Dispute – 2008 to 2011 * Djiboutian-Eritrean Border Conflict – 2008 * Russo-Georgian War of 2008 – 2008 * Gaza War – 2008 to 2009 * Somali Civil War – 2009 to Present * Bangladesh-India Border Clash – 2008 * Kufra Conflict – 2008 * Sudanese Nomadic Conflicts – 2009 to Present * Insurgency in the North Caucasus – 2009 to 2017 * Peruvian Political Crisis – 2009 * Boko Haram Uprising – 2009 to Present * South Yemen Insurgency – 2009 to Present * Operation Scorched Earth – 2009 to 2010 * Dongo Conflict – 2009 * 2010 South Kyrgyzstan Ethnic Clashes – 2010 * 2010 Kingston Unrest – 2010 * Tajikistan Insurgency – 2010 to 2015 * Second Ivorian Civil War – 2010 to 2011 * Nigerian Bandit Conflict – 2011 to Present * Sinai Insurgency – 2011 to 2023 * Shia Insurgency in Bahrain – 2011 to Present * First Libyan Civil War – 2011 * Syrian Civil War – 2011 to Present * Sudanese Conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile – 2011 to 2020 * Syrian Civil War Spillover into Lebanon – 2011 to 2017 * Ethnic Violence in South Sudan – 2011 to Present * Operation Linda Nchi – 2011 to 2012 * Factional Violence in Libya – 2011 to 2014 * Iraqi Insurgency – 2011 to 2013 * Mali War – 2012 to Present * Heglig Crisis – 2012 * M23 Rebellion – 2012 to 2013 * 2012 Albanian Offensive – 2012 * Baragoi Clashes – 2012 * Central African Republic Civil War – 2012 to Present * Lahad Datu Standoff – 2013 * Batwa-Luba Clashes – 2013 to 2020 * RENAMO Insurgency – 2013 to 2021 * Zamboanga City Crisis – 2013 * South Sudanese Civil War – 2013 to 2020 * War in Iraq – 2013 to 2017 * Russo-Ukrainian War – 2014 to Present * Aswan Tribal Clashes – 2014 * Second Libyan Civil War – 2014 to 2020 * War Against the Islamic State – 2014 to Present * 2014 Gaza War – 2014 * Yemeni Civil War – 2014 to Present * Houthi Takeover in Yemen – 2014 to 2015 * Islamic State-Taliban Conflict – 2015 to Present * Islamic State Insurgency in Tunisia – 2015 to 2022 * Kurdish-Turkish Conflict – 2015 to Present * 2016 Niger Delta Conflict – 2016 to Present * Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict – 2016 * Pool War – 2016 to 2017 * Kamwina Nsapu Rebellion – 2016 to 2019 * Conflict in Rakhine State – 2016 to Present * Kasese Clashes – 2016 * Insurgency in Northern Chad – 2016 to Present * Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Skirmish – 2017 * Qatif Unrest – 2017 to 2020 * Marawi Crisis – 2017 * Anglophone Crisis – 2017 to Present * Insurgency in Cabo Delgado – 2017 to Present * 2017 Iraqi-Kurdish Conflict – 2017 * Islamic State Insurgency in Iraq – 2017 to Present * Catatumbo Campaign – 2018 to Present * 2018 Armenian-Azerbaijani Clashes – 2018 * OLA Insurgency – 2018 to Present * November 2018 Gaza-Israel Clashes – 2018 * 2019 India-Pakistan Border Skirmishes – 2019 * May 2019 Gaza-Isreal Clashes – 2019 * Benishangul-Gumuz Conflict – 2019 to 2022 * November 2019 Gaza-Israel Clashes – 2019 * Gang War in Haiti – 2020 to Present * China-India Skirmishes - 2020 to 2021 * Western Togoland Rebellion – 2020 to Present * Second Nagorno-Karabakh War – 2020 * Afar-Somali Clashes – 2020 to Present * Tigray War – 2020 to 2022 * Western Saharan Clashes – 2020 to Present * Ethiopian-Sudanese Clashes – 2020 to 2022 * Insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria – 2021 to Present * 2021 Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan Clashes – 2021 * Myanmar Civil War – 2021 to Present * 2021 Israel-Palestine Crisis – 2021 * Armenia-Azerbaijan Border Crisis – 2021 to Present * Republican Insurgency in Afghanistan – 2021 to Present * 2021 Afghanistan-Iran Clashes – 2021 * Chittagong Hill Tracts Conflict – 2022 to Present * Russian Invasion of Ukraine – 2022 to Present * M23 Offensive – 2022 to Present * 2022 al-Shabaab Invasion of Ethiopia – 2022 * 2022 Gaza-Israel Clashes – 2022 * 2022 Armenian-Azerbaijani Clashes- 2022 * 2022 Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan Clashes – 2022 * Las Anod Conflict – 2022 to Present * War in Amhara – 2023 to Present * 2023 Afghanistan-Iran Clash – 2023 * War in Sudan – 2023 to Present * Wagner Group Rebellion – 2023 * 2023 Azerbaijani Offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh – 2023 * Israel-Hamas War – 2023 to Present * 2023 Israel-Lebanon Border Clashes – 2023 to Present * 2023 American-Middle East Conflict – 2023 to Present * Ecuadorian Conflict – 2024 * 2024 Iran-Pakistan Border Skirmishes – 2024 * Israeli Invasion of Lebanon – 2024 to Present – 2024 Syrian Opposition Offensives – 2024 

Roy W. Backes
© 2025

In-Word Passage – Day 109 – The Too Heavy Blues

The Too Heavy Blues

He wears the blues like a chainmail suit.
They weigh on him.
They hold him back.
There have been brief moments
When he managed to shake off
This weighted suit and
Enjoyed the world without the burden
Of the blue haze.
But he always finds himself, once again,
Weighted down by the blues.
No matter what it takes, he needs
To figure out a way to lose this chainmail suit.
He tries.  He tries
To shake off this weight,
This weight of the chainmail suit.
This weight of the too heavy blues.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 108 – Betrayal

Betrayal

Being betrayed by your enemy
Is what you might expect.
It is no surprise.
That is what your enemies are supposed to do.
However,
Being betrayed by someone
You considered a friend,
That is a betrayal of a different sort.
It comes out of the blue.
It is devastating.
Especially, when confronted,
Your ‘friend’ just gives you
That smirk of a smile and
A shrug of the shoulders.
I’d rather be betrayed
By a thousand of my enemies
Than by one of my ‘friends’.
From ‘Friend’ to ‘Enemy’,
I never thought that could happen.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 107 – The Ember

The Ember 

Hanging high in the tree, 
Holding on for dear life,
The dry leaf flaps madly in the 50mph winds.
The flames, climbing the trunk of the tree
Quickly consume the leaf
Breaking it into a thousand embers.
One of these embers is grabbed by the wind
And lifted high into the sky.
Flying along on the wings of the wind
It grows hotter by the yard.
It travels for miles over land that is bone dry.
This lone ember continues to get hotter,
Glowing brighter as it slowly drops
Toward the earth, fighting the wind against gravity.
It finally lands in a small bush among
The crowded and brittle brush.
Finding dry and thirsty kindling
It ignites once again into a full-fledged flame.
A flame that burns the bush, that burns the brush,
That burns the leaves creating more embers.
Embers that are lifted by the whipping winds,
Growing hotter as they fly, just waiting to land
On the dry and brittle earth 
To begin the cycle once again.

Roy W. Backes
© 2025 

In-Word Passage – Day 106 – Beginnings

Beginnings

Beginnings.
An exciting time.
A time filled with wonder.
A time filled with anticipation.
We all love beginnings.
Beginning a new job.
Beginning a life together.
Even beginning a new series to binge on.
We all love beginnings.  
That is,
Until we arrive at the
Beginning of the end.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage - Day 105 - Play You Like a Piano

Play You Like a Piano

Now that you have played me like a guitar
Allow me to play you like a piano.
The pleasure I take in running my hands
Up and down your keyboard is only matched
By the music you make as I play.
My right hand plays your upper high notes
While my left explores the lower bass section.
My mouth explores your white keys
My tongue plays your black keys.
My fingers work their magic
Playing chords on your body
That slowly build to a crescendo covered
In sweat and passion.
Come on Girl,
Allow me to play you like a piano.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 104 – The Ten to Midnight Blues

The Ten to Midnight Blues

Anticipation,
Watching the minutes tick by.
She promised to meet him at eleven,
As of yet, she is a no-show.
Not a word.
Maybe she is stuck in traffic.
Maybe her phone has died.
Twenty-five past eleven.
He is on his third drink.
The minutes continue to tick by.
He makes a pact with himself
That at midnight he is going to roll,
Not a minute later.
He sits.  He drinks.  He waits.
He looks at the door every time it opens.
He orders another drink.
He looks at his watch.  He looks at the door.
The clock continues to tick on by.
His deadline is rapidly approaching.
He sits here alone with his drink
Staring at the door and 
Suffering from the 
Ten to midnight blues.

Roy W. Backes 
© 2025 

In-Word Passage – Day 103 – D.C. Dreaming

D.C. Dreaming

D.C. dreaming
On such a winter’s day.
Here I sit, the middle of January,
Snow covers the ground.
The temperature hasn’t gone
Above freezing for over a week.
I look outside, watching the wind
Whip through the trees
Adding height and girth to
The frozen drifts of snow.
I dream of D. C. in the summer.
Not D.C. as in Washington, but
D.C. as in Door County,
That peninsula that sits
On the edge of Lake Michigan,
Forming the Bay, known as “Green”.
I dream of warm waters,
Sandy beaches and shallow sandbars.
I dream of seagulls and geese
Feeding along the shore.
Here I sit, in the middle of January,
D.C. dreaming
On such a winter’s day.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 102 – Feelings

Feelings

I was feeling pretty good
When I walked in.
Then I saw them.
First two, then four,
Then six, then eight.
Four of them close friends.
The other four more friends of friends.
They were all surprised to see me
As I was to see them.
I was feeling pretty good
When I walked in.
When I walked out
My feelings were bruised,
Beat up and bleeding.
My feelings,
How quickly and deeply they can be bruised.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 101 – Against the Wall in My Hall

Against The Wall in My Hall

It started out nice.
Dinner, a couple glasses of wine,
Pleasant conversation, a few laughs.
As he walked me home, I debated
With myself about asking him 
Up for another drink.
I invited him in.
He tried to kiss me
As soon as I closed the door.
That was when it started to go sideways.
I swiveled away and since I had
Invited him in I got two glasses
And poured some wine. Half glasses at best.
My focus now on getting him
Out of my place asap.
I’d been here before,
This was not my first rodeo.
I kept my distance.
Uncomfortable,
Nervous.
He could see it.
He could feel it.
He knew he wasn’t going to get any tonight.
He drank his wine a little too fast and then
He got up from the sofa. 
I breathed a sigh of relief,
Stealing a glance at my front door
I stepped into the hall and
That is when he leaped.
Two large steps.
He grabbed me,
He spun me to the wall,
One hand over my mouth
The other hand moving freely.
I tried to push/pull away.
No luck.
He was too strong.
Against the wall in my hall
It happened.
He whispered vulgar things in my ear.
Against the wall in my hall
He raped me.
As he zipped up
He threatened me.  
Reminded me that I had invited him in.
Reminded me that he knew where I lived.
Leaving me against the wall in my hall
He opened the door and left.
I slid down the wall
Wiping tears from my cheeks.
I felt stupid.
I felt ashamed.
I felt dirty,
Like a used rag tossed into a corner.
I remember looking at my hands
As they shook in terror,
In anger,  
In rage.
I remember sitting against the wall 
In my hall wondering
If I was his first one.
That is when I reached for my phone,
Dialed 911 and
Decided that, no matter what,
I was going to be his last one.

Roy W. Backes
© 2017

In-Word Passage – Day 100 – Three X Wives and a Mortgage Blues

Three X Wives and a Mortgage Blues

Behind on his alimony
Behind on his child support
Behind on his mortgage
His three X wives are bleeding him dry
No matter how hard he tries
No matter how hard he works
He is always behind
X one has no patience
X two is constantly calling
X three is threatening to sue
Yet another letter from the mortgage company
Arrived this morning
He feels like he is living on
The dark side of the moon
Yearning for some sun
Yearning for some relief
Some relief from these
Three X wives and a mortgage blues

Roy W. Backes
© 2025

In-Word Passage – Day 99 – Don’t Want My Love for You to Hold You Back

Don’t Want My Love for You to Hold You Back

He’s loved her for so long
He can’t remember a time
Without this love in his heart.
He knows she loved him as well,
For a very long time.
But now he feels her fading away
Moving further from his heart.

He’s loved her forever.
He knows that he is not easy.
But his love for her is stronger
Than his pain.
So, he says to her, “If you need to go,
If our time is over,
Please know that I
Don’t want my love for you
To hold you back.

I’ll be okay.
I’ll be sad, but okay.
So, if you need to go,
Then go.”

Roy W. Backes
© 2022

In-Word Passage – Day 98 – Where Even Angels Suffocate

Where Even Angels Suffocate

As the towers fell
Sending tons of toxic dust
Roaring up the Avenues,
Most people, covered in gray ash, 
Run for their lives, half blind,
Struggling for breath, stumbling and tripping
On the curbs and debris ahead.
Into this dust storm,
A place where even angels suffocate,
Run the first responders
Looking to help those in need.
They selflessly run into the toxic cloud
Stepping over and around the bodies of
The angels who fell before them.
They run, they climb, they suck in the toxic dust,
They hold out their hand, they suffocate.
These heroic men and women chose to run 
Into the toxic cloud, a place where even angels suffocate,
All to help those in need.

Roy W. Backes 
© 2024 

In-Word Passage – Day 97 – Live Right

Live Right

Live right.
There will come a time
For all of us
When we end up laying on our deathbed
Getting ready to say goodbye to this life.
Live right.
Because, I promise, you will want those
Final hours to be full of happy memories,
Not regrets for having intentionally 
Caused pain for others,
For having closed your heart
To your fellow man.
Live right.
Because those final hours are coming
For all of us.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 96 – Stupid People

Stupid People

I’m talking about stupid people.
I’m not talking about uneducated people.
I’m not talking about poor people.
I’m talking about people:
     Who don’t vote.
     Who call African Americans the “N” Word.
     Who call members of the LGBTQ+ community “Fags” and “Dykes”.
     Who say that all people of the Muslim faith are terrorists.
     Who, even though they know they are
     Children of immigrants, still say
     That we should close our borders to everyone.
I’m talking about stupid people.
Am I talking about you?
Yes, you.
I know who you are.
You know who you are.

Roy W. Backes
© 2020

In-Word Passage – Day 95 – Dead To Me

Dead To Me

He/She is dead to me.
He/She had his/her chance,
Actually, he/she has had numerous chances.
He/She has finally crossed the line,
He/She has finally gone too far.
I don’t think he/she will be missed.
It was never really that good.
It was always painful.
It is no longer worth the effort.
Now, he/she is dead to me.
Gone.
Never to be exhumed.

Roy W. Backes
© 2022

In-Word Passage – Day 94 – How Is It Possible?

How Is It Possible?

I’ve been away for three months now.
I miss my house.
I miss my bed.
I miss my city.
I miss my son.
I stand here looking out at
This beautiful body of water
That changes color and character by the hour.
I stand here looking at this wide-open sky
With not a skyscraper in sight.
I stand here on this soft and sandy beach,
My feet sinking slowly into the sand.
I stand here and wonder 
How is it that I am actually tired of this sight,
Tired of this sound?
How is it possible to be no longer affected
By this magnificent beauty?
I have to admit it though,
I am.
I just want to go home.
I’ve been away for three months now.
I miss my house…….

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 93 – She’s Here but Already Gone

She’s Here but Already Gone

They sit at their table
Trying to have a pleasant meal.
The conversation is sporadic and banal.
He notices that her eyes often
Drift toward the front door,
Or cloud over in deep thought.
The food is just above average
As neither of them are able to
Put their heart and soul into the preparation.
They sit there in sporadic silence
Sipping their wine, glass after glass.
The food goes cold on their plates,
The wine bottles go empty.
She looks at him with empty eyes
While he comes to the realization
That she may be here
But she is already gone.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 92 – The Crowded Room Blues

The Crowded Room Blues

He was never comfortable in crowds.
All those people.
All the bumping and shuffling,
All those odors.
He found himself wondering how the hell
He ended up in this crowded room,
Surrounded by strangers
All bumping and shuffling him around.
He looked for an exit
But the amount of people between
Himself and the way out was overwhelming.
He stood there trying his best
Not to spill his drink while being
Bumped and shuffled about.
The air around him was full of perfumes
Of all types, mixed with the odor of sweat.
His anxiety begins to rise with each minute,
His forced smile slowly losing its luster.
He was never comfortable in crowds.
All those people.
Now he finds himself being bumped and shuffled about
And suffering, once again, from these claustrophobic 
Crowded room blues.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 91 – Timber and Tone

Timber and Tone
	         (Meant to follow ‘Iceberg Eyes’)

We’ve been talking on the phone
For the past couple of weeks.
We decided that it was time to meet
Face to face.
We agreed that he would wear a blue sweater
And that I would wear a red dress.
I nervously entered the restaurant,
Looked around and saw him stand and wave.
Thankfully, he matched his online profile photo.
We sat and talked over some wine.
One of the reasons I agreed to meet him
Was that I really liked the sound of his voice
Over the phone.
So, we talked.  We sipped wine.  We laughed.
All the while the timber and tone of his voice
Washed over me in waves.
I watched his mouth move
And his eyes checking me out.
His eyes spent much more time
On my face than on my tits,
Which I appreciated.
Over more wine and some light food
I allowed the timber and tone of his voice
To wash over me, subtlety drawing me in.
The more we talked the more I found myself
Slowly drifting out to sea
With only the timber and tone of his voice
To hold on to.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 90 – Iceberg Eyes

Iceberg Eyes
           (Meant to precede ‘Timber and Tone’)

We’ve been talking on the phone
For the past couple of weeks.
We decided that it was time to meet
Face to face.
I waited in the restaurant looking for
A woman in a red dress to arrive.
We agreed that I would be in a blue sweater
And she would be in a red dress.
Finally, she walked through the door,
Stopped, looked around for the blue sweater.
I stood and raised my hand and
She walked toward me looking seriously hot
In that red dress.
Not too tight, but tight enough.
We sat over glasses of wine
She checking me out.
Me checking her out.
Her eyes were icy blue, the color
Of an iceberg under the water.
Her smile, framed in red, showed teeth
So white it was like they were bleached
An hour ago.
The longer I stared at her red lips
And blue eyes the more I felt like
The Titanic on its maiden voyage
About to be sunk by those iceberg eyes
And that red dress.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 89 – People Come and Go

People Come and Go

People come and go.
Friends come and go.
Lovers come and go.
Many people come and go
In your life.
Hopefully you are able to savor
Each and every one in its own way.
Hopefully you are able to
Hold on to a few of those
People, friends, lovers
As you carry them into
Your senior years.
Even if you carry them
Only as memories.

Roy W. Backes
© 2023

In-Word Passage – Day 88 – Behind Closed Doors

Behind Closed Doors

It is a beautiful house.
Perfectly manicured lawn.
The hedges sculpted in perfect symmetry.
The jet-black driveway with not 
A crack to be found.
Beautiful flower beds to the right and
Left of the front door, 
Where butterflies and bees buzz, happily
Drinking and pollinating away.
The front door made of solid varnished walnut
With ornate inset cut-glass windows.
The morning sun reflects mini rainbows
Off the beveled glass adding color to the flower beds.
Out of this walnut cut-glass door, steps a woman.
Her head down.  Her shoulders slumped forward.
She looks like around like a terrified chipmunk
In an open field.
Her black and blue eyes hidden behind large
Round sunglasses. Her hair, not quite right.
She hurries to her car, a slight limp to her gait
And quickly gets behind the wheel of her BMW.
It is a beautiful house, 
With a perfectly manicured lawn.
No matter how sculpted the hedges,
No matter how beautiful the garden,
You never know what happens
Behind closed doors.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 87 – She Sings

She Sings

I’ve not heard her sing
For many years.
For many years where we
Struggled to hold on.
To hold on to each other,
To hold on to our trust in the world.

Today I heard her sing.
She didn’t know I was there,
There where I could hear
Her sing once again.

Roy W. Backes
© 2022

In-Word Passage – Day 86 – Heading West

Heading West

Heading west
Straight toward the western horizon
Straight toward the setting sun
Straight on into the colorful sky
Straight on into the night
Straight on into the dark
Heading west
The inevitable journey

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 85 – Christmas Day

Christmas Day

Christmas morning.
A time of good coffee, decorative cookies and
Investigating what Santa showed up with last night.
Licking your fingers clean after
The irresistible cookie dunk and wiping
Coffee drops off your chin
It is time to get to work.
Ripping the paper off the packages
That were so meticulously wrapped
In search of your surprise.
Watching the smiles appear on the faces
Of those you love and the excitement 
In their voices as they rip and shred.
Bagging up the crinkled and destroyed  
Wrapping paper for the trash collectors to collect.
Sitting down together around the table 
For your tradition of lox and bagels or
Numerous choices of jellies and jams to
Spread generously upon the cream cheese.
Spending hours reading your new book
Then taking a walk in the icy cold and snow
To prep your body for dinner.
Setting up the Christmas table with all
The holiday china that is used only once a year.
Then gathering once again around your table
To celebrate another year.
Kissing and hugging your loved ones
As they head home, their bellies full,
Arms loaded down with gifts and 
Hearts filled with great joy.
Finally putting on your new pajamas,
Crawling under the blankets while the
Continuation of your new book fills
You with excitement.

Christmas Day.
One of those very special days
In a year full of days.
Merry Christmas Everyone

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 84 – The Night Before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and,
As we all know, Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
He is sitting behind nine beautiful reindeer,
Led by none other than Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
With a glass of wine in my hand and
A cookie on my plate I look out my window
On this very Silent Night and find myself
Exclaiming to myself, “Joy to the World.
It is Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
So, Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow
Because Baby it is Cold Outside.”
In the middle of this wondrous winter wonderland
I watch a group of kids enjoying a sleigh ride
With the Jingle Bells jingling and the sleigh all
Decked out with Silver Bells.
Turning away from the window I observe
My wife and son as they Deck the Hall.
They bring a smile to my face because it is obvious
That they are having a Holly Jolly Christmas.
On this O Holy Night before Christmas
I ask you all to stop and take a moment to
Enjoy the beauty of a White Christmas
And appreciate that it is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.
I write this poem as a way of wishing that you all
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Hark, The Herald Angels sing,
“Pease and Love to you and yours.”

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 83 – Dancing in the Dark

Dancing in the Dark

The moon's been swallowed by
Dark dense clouds,
The starlight is all snuffed out.
In front of his penthouse window
Surveying the crowded city,
With Christmas music playing softly
In the background,
He sways to the beat of his heart,
His hands in his pockets,
Alone,
Dancing in the dark.

Roy W. Backes
© 1996

In-Word Passage – Day 82 – Missing Her

Missing Her

She never stopped singing to me.
She sang her song all day and all night.
Sometimes her song was just a hum,
Soft and mellow with a gentle lapping.
Other times her song was loud and raucous
Pounding the shore with an aggressive beat.
She constantly changed her color,
Always a mix of colors that painted the water
Depending upon her mood.
She loved reflecting a vast field of diamonds
In the morning sun for my viewing pleasure.
While at night, she reflected a pathway
To the moon as it shimmered off the water
On its rise above the horizon.
She allowed herself to be home
To gulls, geese and pelicans.
She fed them with her fish.
She washed them all with her clean, clear water.
She made me happy.
Every day.
She never disappointed.

No longer sitting on her shore
I miss her song.
I miss the calls of her guests.
I miss her constantly changing color.
I miss the lake.
I miss her.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 81 – After the Fall

After the Fall

Is winter.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In- Word Passage – Day 80 – The Dark Light

The Dark Light

When you finally turn off
Your bedside light
Plunging your bedroom into darkness,
Close your eyes and observe,
What I like to call,
The dark light.
Those faint remnants of light
That linger in the dark that
Your eyes refuse to let go of.

I have always felt that
This dark light,
Which is constantly changing shapes
Under your eyelids
Gives you the inspiration for
Your first dream of the night.
So, close your eyes, sleep tight
And enjoy the dream provided to you
By the dark light.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 79 – No Room Blues

No Room Blues

There are times when
He is so blue
It is as though he is
Inside the blues,
Surrounded by the blues, 
Blinded by the blues.
When the golden sun shines on him
His aura has a tint of green to it.
There are times when he is so blue
That when new blues try to enter
They find that there is 
No room in the inn and
These new blues are forced to move on
Looking for another blue being.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 78 – Empaths

Empaths

We need more empaths in the world.
There is so much pain,
So much suffering
In so many places
That the need for more empaths
Has become acute.
So, if you are one of those people
Who feels for others,
Who feels the need to ease the pain of others
Then please reach out to someone
In need and try to take away
Just a little of their pain.
We need more empaths in the world.
There is just way too much pain.

Roy W. Backes
© 2023

In-Word Passage – Day 77 – Our Thoughts and Prayers

Our Thoughts and Prayers

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all
The victims of this senseless school shooting.”
     “Yes, I proudly voted against any kind of gun regulation.”
Our thoughts and prayers…….
     “Look. If we just gave our teachers guns….”
Our thoughts and prayers……. 
     “Happy 14th birthday Son.  Here is your new 
      AR 15 and a box of bullets as well.”
Our thoughts and prayers…….
     “We all know the only way to stop a bad guy
       With a gun is to give the good guy a gun.”
Our thoughts and prayers…….
     “The Second Amendment states that we
      All have the inalienable right to bear
      Weapons of war.”
Our thoughts and prayers…….
     “You will have to pry my gun from my hands
      Over my cold, dead body.”
Our thoughts and prayers…….
     “Gun laws?  We don’t need more gun laws.
      We need more guns.
     “Background checks?
      We don’t need background checks.  Who cares?”
     “Bump stocks?  We need bump stocks.
      We want bump stocks.”
Our Thoughts and Prayers…….
     “STOP RIGHT THERE.
      We don’t want your thoughts and prayers.
      Your thoughts and prayers mean nothing to us.
      Your thoughts are absurd and empty.
      Your prayers are nothing but the voice of cowards.”

“I pray for your soul and all of the innocent blood on your hands.”

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 76 – A Risky Move

A Risky Move

It was always a risky move,
No matter what kind of signals
You thought you were receiving from her.
Should I lean in for that first kiss?
Will it be accepted?
Will she pull away?
Will it be returned?
Or, 
Slowly sliding my hand toward her breast.
Will it be slapped away?
Will she pull away?
Will she slowly turn toward my hand?
Or
Saying those heartfelt three words.
Will they be accepted?
Will they be rejected??
Will they be returned?
No matter what kind of signals
You thought you were receiving from her,
Leaning in or sliding your hand or
Saying those three words was always
A risky move.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 75 – Cleaning Erasers

Cleaning Erasers

I attended both grade and middle school
During the 50’s and 60’s.
Eight years at Catholic schools,
St. Mary’s and then St. Philip’s.
Each with black and white clad nuns
As my teachers.
They wrote lessons on large blackboards
Using white chalk and would use gray felt 
Erasers to clear the board.
After a full day of teaching
The dark gray erasers were chalky white.
I always felt a sense of pride
When the sister chose me to clean the erasers.
I would gather up all four erasers and
Step outside so I could slap two of them
Together, over and over, creating a huge
White cloud of chalk dust.
I learned quickly to keep my back to the wind
Or else I’d choke on the white dust.
I clapped and slapped those erasers
Against each other until the dust cloud stopped.
I then gathered the now chalk-free gray erasers
And returned to my classroom looking
Like a ghost, all covered in soft white powder,
But full of pride at a job well done.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 74 – Travelling

Travelling

I love to travel.
Going to places I’ve never been before,
Visiting historic sights.
However, I don’t love packing my bag,
Trying to meet the 50lb limit.
I don’t love living out of a suitcase.
I am scared to death of flying.
The idea of being cooped up with a 
Hundred-plus other humans flying
40,000 feet above the earth, frankly,
Scares the shit out of me.
I prefer to do my travelling in my mind.
I can go anywhere I want to go.
And the price is right.  Either 50% off
The original price at my neighborhood 
Used book shop or, worse case, full price
At Barnes and Noble.
I love to travel.
I just prefer my mode of transportation
To be my mind and imagination.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 73 – They Sit in the Corner

They Sit in The Corner

They sit in the corner
Of a four walled room.
No doors. No windows.
Light drips from a dim bulb
Fixed to the ceiling.
The floor is cold concrete,
Gray and uncarpeted.
They sit in the corner
Staring at the blank walls
Searching for cracks
Searching for sounds
Searching for warmth.

Roy W. Backes
© 1992

In-Word Passage – Day 72 – An Homage To the ‘Burgh – Mid 60’s

An Homage To the ‘Burgh – Mid 60’s

Got on ‘da bus in Crafton,
Asked the driver for some change
An’ headed dahntahn to meet my bud, Haherd.
(Found out years later that his name is actually Howard).
We’re meeting under the Kaufmann’s clock.
I rode dahn the hill through the West End, 
Passed the Duquesne Incline and crossed
The Fort Pitt Bridge to my stop in tahn. 
When I saw Haherd I said, “Hey, you Jagoff,
Wass up?”  
He smiled and asked, “Jeet yet?”
I said, “No. D’Jew?”
He said, “Cool.  Yinz wanna walk up to
Primanti Brothers and get one of ‘em sammiches, n’at?”
So, we strolled up Liberty Avenue toward
‘Da Strip.  We sat on one of ‘da loading docks
In the Strip District and devaherd our sammiches,
French fries, coleslaw, the whole nine yards.
Our stomachs full, we wandered back 
Dahntahn passing the Nixon Theater and then
The Stanley, which was showing ‘Goldfinger’ in ‘Technicolor’.
We decided to head dahn to ‘da Point where we walked
Arahnd the old remains of Fort Pitt.
Then we spent an ‘ahr or so throwing rocks into
The Mon and the Allegheny.
Our arms sore we headed back to tahn,
Passed the Hilton, checked out the Jenkins Arcade,
And wandered into Joseph Horne Co. 
After using the toilet, we tested all seven
Of the Seven Seas colognes, then walked back ‘aht
Onto Penn Avenue trailing a fog of sea smells 
All the way up to Fifth Street.  We took a left
And crossed the Fifth Street Bridge over to the nor’side
And came back to tahn across the Seventh Street Bridge.
With tired legs we stopped for a Clark Bar for me and
A Zagnut Bar for Haherd.
We then headed back to our bus stops for the journey home.
Just two kids enjoying a day in
Dahntahn Pittsburgh in the mid 60’s.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 71 – Toxic

Toxic

You know that slimy, somewhat
Oily feeling you get when
You are in the presence of
Someone toxic?
Once you walk away
All you want to do is
Go home and take
A long hot shower?
That is how I feel while
In the company of her.
Her, with that air of superiority.
Always looking down her beak
Of a nose as though I was
Somehow smaller than she.
She, who always has something
Critical to say, always trying
To put me down so she can lift herself up.
I can’t spend more than
A few minutes in her company
Before my skin begins to crawl
And the desire for a long hot shower
Becomes desperate.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 70 – Off Balance

Off Balance

Skipping and spinning down the street,
Throwing in an occasional leg kick,
The woman looks like she is full of joy
And has a love for life.
Following close behind is a
Cute four- or five-year-old,
Pigtails bouncing with each step.
She dances and spins and
And tries to keep her balance
Until she falls and skins her knee.
As she cries, the woman spins
One more time and screams
At the innocent child.
The child cowers and slowly gets up,
Inspecting her own knee,
Then limps forward,
No longer dancing and spinning,
While the woman does another
Off balance leg kick and 
Moves on without looking back.

Roy W. Backes
© 2007

In-Word Passage – Day 69 – Running From the Devil

Running From the Devil

My God, she is fast.
No matter how far I run,
No matter how fast I run
She is always right behind me
Keeping pace.  Never tiring,
Never breathing hard.
I take a quick look behind me.
She is still there
Hair softly blowing in the wind
A cheeky smile on her face.
I put my head down and
Slowly pick up my pace
Hoping beyond hope that
I will, someday, be able 
To outrun the Devil.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 68 – Jack Drinks Jack

Jack Drinks Jack

He was born with the name John
But everybody called him Jack.
He embraced the name, Jack.  
Not John, or Johnnie or Jackie.  Just Jack.
His father always joked that he was named
After Jack Daniels.
He was actually named after his Uncle Jack.
His first taste of Jack Daniels whiskey
Was on his sixteenth birthday.
His friends scored a bottle and
They sat under the bleachers and sipped
Jack until the world softened and began to spin.
Jack became his drink as he
Worked his way into adulthood.
He settled on Jack and Coke.
As his weight began to grow
He dumped the Coke and
Stayed with Jack,
Maybe a little water on the side.
John, who became Jack
Liked to tell his friends that
Jack doesn’t drink Johnnie,
Jack doesn’t drink Jim,
Jack drinks Jack.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 67 – A Sad Sight

A Sad Sight

A beautiful windy day here on the shore.
I sit on our deck looking out
Enjoying the waves crashing onto the beach.
The clouds in the sky,
Soft white against bright blue.
The water a mix of blue and
A kind of granite gray.
White caps everywhere.
An absolutely beautiful day.
Into this wonderful slice of nature
Walks a woman with her head down,
Staring at her phone.
She walks.  She texts.  She stops.  She texts.
She never lifts her eyes from her phone.
She walked all the way across my line of sight
And eventually disappeared down the beach
While not once lifting her head
To take in the beauty of
Where she walked.
It was a sad sight to see.
Someone buried in a 6” x 3” screen
While ignoring the immense splendor
That surrounded her.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 66 – Too Much Time

Too Much Time

I am a patient man
As you well know.
You said you needed some time
So, I stepped back and gave you some time.
I have waited patiently, but,
It’s been a good long while now
And you still stay away.
You say you need more time.
Well, I can’t give you any more time.
It is time for me to move on
Because to be quite honest,
You have taken way
Too much time.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 65 – Grim Reaper or Grin Reaper

Grim Reaper or Grin Reaper

You can tell a lot about the lives of
Aged people if you are willing
To be patient.
Just spend a couple of days sitting in the 
Hallway of any senior citizen living community,
Known back in the day, as an “old folks’ home”.
Just sit patiently in your chair and
Watch who comes walking down the hall
As another ancient one passes over.
It is either going to be the Grim Reaper,
All black and hooded, hiding its face,
Scythe in hand
Coming for the old man who spent his life
Screwing over anyone in his way
In order to move forward and
Fill his already fat wallet.
Or you might see the Grin Reaper,
Dressed in white with its hand out and
A smile on its face,
Who is coming for the old woman who
Was kind and caring her whole life.
Whether the hooded Reaper with scythe in hand
Or the white clad Spirit with a welcoming smile
Arrives at your door as you pass over,
Either one will tell the observer sitting
Patiently in the hallway a lot about
How you lived your life.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 64 – Feeling Naked

Feeling Naked

My phone died on me overnight.
It was alive when I went to bed
But looked back at me this morning
With a big black dead screen.
I tried to force start it
But the black screen remained.
Oh well, I’ll just have to 
Take it to the phone store
To see what the problem is.
In the meantime, I feel naked.
I have reached for my phone at least
A dozen times in the past hour alone.
I had no idea how much I depended
On that 3” x 6” minicomputer
I can hold in my hand.
I feel naked without it.
Hopefully the phone store can
Solve my phone problem and help 
Me get dressed at the same time.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 63 – I Left Her for You?

I Left Her for You?

She and I had a good thing going.
We enjoyed each other’s company.
We laughed.
We were comfortable together.
Then you walked into my life.
You, with that sweet smile.
You, with that sexy, smokey perfume.
You slowly pulled me away from her.
You drove a wedge between us.
Eventually I walked away from her,
For you.
Once you got me all for yourself
The thrill of the catch was gone.
You grew colder by the day.
You began to pull away,
Further and further, till you were gone,
Your sights set on another.
She and I had a good thing going,
But I left her for you.
She moved on just like you moved on
And here I sit
Alone at my table
Asking myself why did I
Ever leave her for you?

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 62 – Our Loud World

Our Loud World

For those of us who are city dwellers
We live in a vibrantly loud world.
The constant buzz of the city streets,
Broken by the occasional beep, beep, beep
Of a truck in reverse.
Or the thwap, thwap, thwap of the helicopter
Above recording the news or
Heading to a hospital.
There is the distant hum of the fly over
Of jets on their way to somewhere,
As well as the chatter of us humans
On our phones or in conversation with each other.
It is a loud world.
Searching for quiet can be a challenge.
We may find it in a church, a library or even a museum.
But, on a daily basis, our search for quiet
Is often disturbed by this wonderful
And vibrantly loud world we live in.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 61 – The Genie

The Genie

Every morning, I get up
And check on the swollen cork
Shoved into the top of the bottle.
I push it down whenever I
See the cork slightly lifted.
I need to keep the Genie in the bottle.
I have no interest in its three-wish promise.
After the three wishes, then what?
Once out, there is no putting the Genie
Back in the bottle.
So, every morning I get up and
I check the cork.
I push it down.
I make sure that it is secure.
No matter what happens
I need to keep the 
Genie in the bottle.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 60 – So Many Options

So Many Options

I sent you a text the other day.
I typed you an email.
I even left you a voicemail.
All stating that I needed you.
It has been two days
And you are still not here.
How is that possible?
There are planes, trains and automobiles.
There are Ubers and Lyfts.
There are taxis and buses
And bikes and scooters.
There is rapid transit
Or even the horse drawn carriage.
You could even walk or run if need be.
So, how is it possible that after two days
You are still not here, by my side,
In my hour of need?

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 59 – Never Been the Same

Never Been the Same

Every once in a while, an event
Happens in your life that changes you forever.
April 06, 1985, was one of those days.
On that day, a woman walked through the door
And my life has never been the same.
She brought light and joy into that room.
A room in which I watched thousands 
Of women enter over the years.
Most of them were very nice,
Many of them were quite attractive.
But none of them brought what she brought.
She brought light and joy and
Eventually, great happiness into my life.
I married that woman and
Five years to the day she walked through that door
She gave birth to our son.
Another day which, afterwards,
I have never been the same.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 58 – Driving

Driving

Fast:	Pedal to the metal
	Windows down and the wind
	Blowing loudly through the car.
	Radio at full volume playing
	ZZ Top or Zeppelin and leaving
	The world behind as quickly as possible.

Slow:	Cruising down the avenue,
	Top down, hair slicked back
	My cigarettes rolled up into
	My sleeve.  Revving the engine
	To rattle the pipes in order to draw
	The attention of all the pretty girls.

Roy W. Backes
© 2007

In-Word Passage – Day 57 – The Clearing Path

The Clearing Path

We all need a place
To quiet our mind.
A place to escape the
Constant chatter of modern life.
A place to rest.
A place surrounded by nature at its best.
The blue/teil water to gaze upon,
The wind softly caressing the trees,
The birds gently chirping
Hidden by the leaves.
The ground creatures scurrying,
Crawling, digging, hunting.
But most of all it is the quiet.
I have yet to find a better place 
On this planet
That allows me to quiet my mind
And open myself to inspiration
Than the Clearing path.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 56 – Top of Their Game

Top of Their Game

Sitting in a Broadway theater.
Listening to the Symphony.
Reading my favorite authors.
Watching my cities sports teams play,
All give me the same satisfaction
In knowing that I am watching, reading
Or listening to professionals who are
All at the top of their game.
They are all among the best
At what they do.
They entertain me.
They fill me with joy.
They inspire me to be better,
To strive to be among those who are at
The top of their game.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 55 – The Darker Side

The Darker Side

I often think of nature in a kind light.
You know, beautiful sunsets, lovely flowers,
The melodic music of birds, the beauty of
The lake and those that reside on it.
However, recently Ms. Nature has been
Showing us the other, darker side of her personality.
Hurricanes with roaring winds that
Knock down trees by the thousands.
Megatons of rain falling hard and constant
Causing flooding of epic proportions,
Even in the mountains, where mudslides
Swallow up villages and hamlets.
Earthquakes rattling cities around the world
Cracking man’s construction projects like toothpicks.
Tornadoes whipping through the Midwest
Lifting everything in its path into its windy spiral.
I often thought of nature in a kind light,
But it seems to me that Ms. Nature has a 
Much darker and destructive side.
A side that I hope to never experience in person.
Bless you all who have been affected by
The darker side of Ms. Nature’s personality.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 54 – Fighting the Hill

Fighting the Hill

With its hand firmly placed
In the middle of her back
Time slowly pushes her up
The hill we call Life.
Her heels dig into the ground,
Her thighs twitch in resistance,
But time forces her further up the 
Hill like a slow-moving glacier.
She was probably, oh so fine,
Back in the day.
A day she refuses to let go of.
She dresses like she is still twenty-two
But her well over forty-two body
Doesn’t seem to be cooperating.
She works a little too hard
To attract attention.
That may have worked twenty plus years ago,
It doesn’t quite work today.
Her heels bleeding,
Her thighs twitching in resistance,
Her hands grabbing at every branch and bush,
Time, with its hand still firmly
Planted in the middle of her back
Continues to push her up the hill
Ever so slowly
Toward the inevitable crest.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 53 – A Week of the Blues – Friday

A Week of the Blues

Friday

I open my eyes
To another gray day.
At least the rain has stopped.
I crawl out of bed
And make my way to the bathroom
To do my morning routine.
I dress for work.
I pack my lunch adding
Another three Archway Date-filled
Oatmeal cookies to my bag.
I lock my house
And try to remember
Where I parked my car last night.
After a brief search I
Begin my final journey of the week
Alongside my fellow commuters.
I park my car and
Enter the workplace
Where the mood seems lighter.
Everyone seems relieved that
Finally, Friday has arrived.
Friday, the last day of these
Weekly workday blues.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 52 – A Week of the Blues – Thursday

A Week of the Blues

Thursday

The loud and angry voices
Of talk radio wake me
This gray rainy morning.
I lay here, half asleep, and try
To decipher what they are so angry about.
I finally give up, crawl out of bed,
And make my way to the bathroom
To do my morning routine.
I dress for work.
I pack my lunch, adding three
Archway Date-filled Oatmeal cookies
To the mix.
I lock my house and
Step out into a pelting rain
On the way to my car.
The commute is nightmarish.
The rain wreaking havoc on traffic.
At last, I park my car
And enter the workplace,
A full twenty minutes late.
I sit at my desk with my
Feet soaking wet, wishing I
Had extra socks in my desk drawer.
I hunker down, focus,
Knowing that there are only two 
More days to go and do my best
To get through these wet feet
Thursday workday blues.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 51 – A Week of the Blues – Wednesday

A Week of the Blues

Wednesday

Is it that time already?
I mean, I just fell asleep.
I hit the snooze on my alarm
And relish a mere nine minutes
Of additional sleep.
The sun blaring into my bedroom
I crawl out of bed
And trudge my way to the bathroom
To do my morning routine.
I dress for work,
Pack my lunch,
Adding an extra TastyKake
To have with my coffee break coffee.
I lock the house
Start my car
And slowly enter the flow
Of traffic once again.
I park my car and
Enter the workplace.
My co-worker announces that
“Today is hump-day,
It is all downhill from here”, 
Like she does every Wednesday.
I nod in agreement and struggle
To get the lid off my coffee
Without dumping its contents
All over my desk.
I sip my coffee, open my TastyKake
And begin another one of these,
Will I ever get over the 
“Hump-day” workday blues.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 50 – A Week of the Blues – Tuesday

A Week of the Blues

Tuesday

Stayed up too late last night
Binging on my favorite program
And thus, the morning came
Way too early.
The sun barely peeking over the horizon
I crawl out of bed,
Do the slow march to the bathroom
To do my morning routine.
I dress for work,
Pack my lunch, adding a TastyKake that
I bought at the grocery store yesterday.
I lock the house
And join my fellow commuters
In the slow-moving line of traffic.
I park my car
And enter the workplace,
Where too much work awaits
With too little time.
I put my head down and wonder
How I will ever survive these
Tuesday workday blues.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 49 – A Week of the Blues – Monday

A Week of the Blues

Monday

Woke up this Monday morning
Before the sun even had a chance to say hello.
I slowly marched to the bathroom
To do my morning routine.
I dressed for work, not a suit, thank God,
Packed my lunch,
Wishing now that I had bought those
TastyKakes at the grocery yesterday.
I lock the house
And begin another week
Of the traffic filled commute
To the job.
I park my car
And enter the workplace with
Five full days ahead of me
That feels like five full years.
I put my head down, focus and
Do my best to get through
Another of these
Monday workday blues.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In- Word Passage – Day 48 – The Lonely Player

The Lonely Player

It is almost midnight, and I am
Heading home from a gathering with friends.
As I approach the basketball court
In my neighborhood I am surprised 
To see a lonely player shooting hoops
Alone under the mercury lights that
Illuminate the court in a bluish haze.
He practices his dribble between his legs
As well as the drive, stop and pull-up jumper.
As I sit at the stop sign watching
I hear the ball clank off the netless rim
And watch him chase his miss.
It is almost midnight, and this lonely player
Practices hard.  
Are dreams of the NBA what drive him?
Is he unwilling or unable to go home
And face what awaits him there?
Is this just his exercise routine?
As I slowly pull away and leave the
Court behind, I can’t help but wonder
What drives a man to play basketball all alone
As the clock approaches midnight.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 47 – Four-Leaf Clover

Four-Leaf Clover

The four-leaf clover.
The Irish symbol of luck.
They say if you find one your luck will change.
My mother loved to look
For four-leaf clovers.
Since her nightly prayers
Didn’t seem to be working
Why not try for a little luck of the Irish?
She spent hours bent over in our backyard
Looking for a four-leaf clover.
I don’t know if she ever found one.
I do know that she never stopped looking.
Never stopped trying to change her luck.
The four-leaf clover.
The Irish symbol of luck.
It only works, however, if you are
Lucky enough to find one.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage - Day 46 - Where the Concrete Meets the Earth

Where the Concrete Meets the Earth

If you drive long enough
And far enough away from the highway,
Zig-zagging your way along
Smaller and smaller roads,
You will eventually come to
A place where the concrete meets the earth.
Once you step off the concrete
And onto the dirt road
You know that you are stepping into nature.
Follow the dirt road to
The hidden path through the trees
And experience the earth beneath your feet.
The earth that ever so gently
Gives way to your weight
Making it, oh so, much easier on your knees.
Walk and enjoy.  Sit and experience
And know that where the concrete
Meets the earth is just the beginning
Of your journey.
Not the end.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 45 – The Price of Love

The Price of Love

He lives paycheck to paycheck.
There is not much left over
At the end of the month to play with.
Certainly not enough to pursue that
Woman he has his eye on.
He can’t afford to talk to her.
He can’t afford to take her to dinner.
He can’t even afford to take her to
The movies where a bucket of popcorn
Is like six bucks, buttered.
He is forced to admire her from a distance
Until his situation changes.
He can only hope she doesn’t find someone
Who can afford to treat her
As she deserves to be treated.
The price of love is high,
Too high right now.
He just doesn’t have it.
He has to find a way to live without her love
Until he can finally fill his pockets with green.
At least then, he might have a chance.
The price of love?
Is way too high.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 44 – A Piece of Me

A Piece of Me

Each of them has a piece of me in their possession.
Either it is the piece they took
With them when they left me
Or it is the piece of me that
I left sitting on the bedside table
Before I walked out the door.
Most of these pieces are either stuffed
In a box at the back of their closet
Or rotting in a waste dump somewhere.
Maybe one or two pieces are
Sitting on someone’s mantelpiece
Or resting in a curio cabinet.
I know this because I have pieces of each of them.
Some given, some taken,
Some stored in a box in the back of my closet,
Or sitting on my mantel piece.
We all have pieces of each other
Some given, some taken,
Some hidden, some on display.
A piece of me.
A piece of you.
All pieces of the mosaic of life.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 43 – A Scream in the Distance

A Scream in the Distance

Sitting on my roof deck
Looking out at the city
I listen to the silence.
No sirens.  No kids on the playground.
No traffic.
It is as though the city is holding its breath.
As though it is waiting for them.
Waiting for those who don’t agree with our values.
Waiting for those who don’t agree with our choices.
We are all sitting here
Holding our collective breaths,
Just waiting for the shriek and cry
Of someone being rounded up,
Marginalized, or kicked to the curb.
I look out over the city
Listening to the silence.
Waiting.
Until a blood curdling scream is heard off in the distance
Signaling the death of Democracy.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 42 – Party Line

Party Line

To this day, every time
I lift the handset of a landline phone
To make a call
I hold the handset to my ear,
Listen to make sure that there is
No one else on the line.
Then I dial.
That training was drilled 
Into me growing up.
Growing up with a party line,
A phone line shared by numerous parties.
If you were sneaky enough
You could very quietly lift the handset
And listen in on your neighbors’ conversations.
I tried that on several occasions
But soon realized that the
Lives of my neighbors were
No more interesting than mine.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 41 – My Women of Yoga

My Women of Yoga

It all started with my wife, Mary
Who suggested that I try yoga.
I resisted.
She insisted.
I gave in grudgingly, and have now
Been practicing for over fifteen years.
Mary and I now practice yoga together,
Side by side, growing together.
One of my early teachers, Chae
Taught me how to breathe,
How to move my body into the pose.
She taught me patience and showed
Me the mind-side of yoga.
Years into my practice came Lindsay.
A bright light. A beacon to strive for.
She taught me how to use silence
To enhance my practice,
To look inward and stop focusing
On “how do I look?”, to put my ego aside.
These three women,
I think of them as my Women of Yoga
Changed my life.
They taught me to move.
They taught me to concentrate.
They taught me to live,
Both outside and inside my practice.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 40 – This Routine

This Routine

I have this routine
In my life that makes
Me very happy, indeed.
There are minor adjustments
To this routine based on the day,
Time of year, and location.
This routine is simple,
With only one goal in mind,
Which is to make
My days comfortable
And spectacularly full
Of nothing but joy.

Roy W. Backes
© 2023

In-Word Passage – Day 39 – It Starts Slow

It Starts Slow

It starts slow,
First with one note,
Then two.
Followed by a chord,
Then maybe another
Ending in a cool riff.
The groove that is set
Slowly builds in rhythm
With the beat of the bass
And the sticks of the drummer.
Layer in the vocal and that
Thing that started slowly, with one note,
Is now a full-fledged anthem.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 38 – The Cry of the Single Seagull

The Cry of the Single Seagull

It is a very quiet morning
Here at the lakeside.
Very little breeze.
The water gently lapping at the shore.
Into this quiet world
Flies a single seagull.
It seems to be in search of something.
Food?
A mate?
It cries loudly hoping that
Whatever breeze there is
Will carry its call.
This single seagull floats
In the sky calling to
An empty and quiet world
On its lonely journey over the water.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 37 – Empty

Empty

I’m empty.
I have no more to give,
My strength has run out.
My fingernails are chipped
And bleeding from grasping
At the rocks.
My feet are broken,
Snapped by the roots
And pits along the path.
My head aches
From the pressure
Of trying to cope
When coping seems hopeless.

I’m empty.
Drained.
Wrung out.
With nothing left
To give.
I crave for some strength,
For something to grasp on to,
Something to fill me up.
But now, I have no more to give.
I’m running on empty.

Roy W. Backes
© 2021

In-Word Passage – Day 36 – As Night Ends

As Night Ends

When night’s shift is over
And the faint light of dawn
Begins to color the eastern sky
The day to follow is full of promise.
Expectation fills the cool air
Before the heat of the day arrives.
The dew is damp and wet
And covers every surface
Giving the world a shimmery look.
As the sun climbs toward the horizon
The night creatures scurry away
To rest while the day creatures
Begin to sing, welcoming the morning.
We humans slowly crawl out of our beds
And begin our preparations to face
What lies ahead.
As night ends 
Day slowly appears and shines
Its golden rays upon a world
Filled with life and expectation.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 35 – Singing in the Rain

Singing in the Rain

Escaped the heat of the city.
The heatwave was oppressive
This early in the season.
Flew two hours then drove three,
Finally arriving at our place on the lake shore.
I stood on the beach and
Watched the front roll in.
Blue sky replaced by dark gray clouds.
The waves kicked up, pounding the shore.
The sky opened up eventually,
Soaking me, cooling me off.
I stood there, the rain pelting me,
The wind blowing and
I found myself so full of joy
That I began to sing to myself.
At first quietly, then louder.
Standing on the beach
In the middle of this storm,
Soaking wet and slightly chilled
I entertained the stormy sky by
Singing in the rain.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 34 – Selling My Soul

Selling My Soul

Many years ago, the Devil approached me with an offer.
He said that, for the price of my soul
He could give me fame and fortune.
I could have anything I wanted.
After not much thought I looked him
In his fiery red eyes and
Very nicely told him to stuff it.

A few years back a “Christian God” approached me with an offer.
He/She said, that for the price of my soul
I can help build a Christian Nation.
They said that all I had to do was:
1.)  Ignore the Lies.
        After all, what is Truth
2.)  Forget about Forgiveness and Compassion,
        Replace it with Rage and Retribution
3.)  Pull back your Helping Hand.
        Let them suffer if they must.
4.)  Make Immigrants unwelcome.  Round them up.
        Put them all in cages and compounds.
5.)  Put Women in their place.
        Maintain control over their bodies.
6.)  Turn away when you see them Stealing.
        Use your Blind Eye.
7.)  Worship Money.  Remember, after all 
        It is the Father, Son and the Almighty Dollar.
8.)  Step on the Black Man.  
        Keep him down.  Keep him quiet.
9.)  Suppress the LGBTQ Community.
        They have no rights under our laws.
10.) Swear that I am the only God.
        Kill Buddha. Kill Yahweh.  Kill Krishna.
I looked this “Christian God” in their empty eyes
And very nicely told Them to put their offer
Where the sun don’t shine.
This “Christian God” looked me in the eye
With no love in Their heart and said to me,
“You will be sorry.  You will burn in Hell.”
I proudly gave Them the middle finger.
Turned my back and calmly walked away,
My soul still my own.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 33 – The Midnight Shift

The Midnight Shift

I always wondered where my uncle was.
He was seldom around when we visited.
It turned out that he was sleeping most of the time
Because he worked the night shift at the mill.
My aunt called it the Midnight Shift.
12:00am to 8:00am.
While we all slept, he worked all night
Making steel,
Sweating in the heat of the furnace
That negated the cool of the night.
He worked the midnight shift,
Missing many gatherings.
Missing his children, as they
Were already in school by the time he got home
And was often sound asleep when they got home.
My uncle worked the midnight shift at the mill,
Pouring molten steel in the still of the night.
He gave up most of his daylight life
So he could work in the deep dark of
The Midnight Shift.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 32 – Live Loud

Live Loud

We’ve all heard the saying,
“The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
My advice to you all is
To live your life loud
And make some noise.
Make noise for change,
Whatever it is.
Scream it from the rooftops.
Sing it loud and clear
Over and over again.
Make them hear you,
Make them deal with you,
Make them change.
Say no
Loud and clear.
Say no
Over and over.
Since the squeaky wheel is the one
That gets the grease,
Be the squeaky wheel.
Make some serious, squeaky loud noise.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 31 – Blue Skyy

Blue Skyy

Ice cold
Right out of the freezer.
As he pours himself his first shot
The dark blue bottle of Skyy Vodka
Is hard to hold.
It’s like holding a snowball in your hand,
Quickly numbing your fingers.
It is worth it though.
The ice-cold vodka from the shot glass
Freezes his throat as it goes down.
Sky Blue
His favorite color.
Since he can’t drink the blue
Of the daytime sky
He will be content to sit back and
Enjoy drinking the ice cold,
Just out of the freezer
Blue Skyy.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage- Day 30 – Diamonds/Clubs/Spades/Hearts

Diamonds/Clubs/Spades/Hearts

She has many moods, my woman does.
She wears these moods like suits.
Depending on the day the suits and color
Change as well as the style.

At her best she is like a red diamond.
She sparkles with joyous energy and
Carries a smile that is indestructible.

When her mood turns dark and black
She will beat herself up as though
She is wielding a club to inflict
Guilt and recrimination upon herself.

She is always curious, my woman is.
When interested in a subject, she loves
To research it and dig as deep as she can
Using books and articles like a spade
To dig even deeper.

Her heart is huge.
She loves deeply with a fire
That burns red with passion and commitment.

My woman wears many suits.
All of which show her style and
Shuffle the full deck of her personality.
I love this woman no matter
Which suit she is wearing.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 29 – A Waiver

A Waiver

The bruise on my left buttock
Grew larger by the day.
Blue, then purple, then black.
Like a giant internal ink blot.
When I hit the unforgiving red brick
From five feet in the air
Crushing my iPhone and driving it into my buttock,
My first thought was, “Get your ass off this ground.”
I immediately stood up to assess the damage.
With deep fear in my heart, I was stunned
To discover that I had full range of motion
In my hips, my shoulders and my back,
With no sharp pain present.
I was sore as hell.  Stiff as hell.
Obviously, some damage but nothing broken
Other than my ego.
Luckily, I didn’t hit my head.  I managed
To miss both the bench and the brick ledge
Along the walkway.
The fact that I walked (limped) away from
That fall was a minor miracle.
Fortunately, my Guardian Angel was alert
And on guard that day.
After hearing my story, a friend of mine
Looked me in the eye and said, “You got
A waiver on that one, my friend.  The
Universe gave you a waiver.”

I realize that I was given a waiver
By the universe and I swear to you all,
That I will not waste it!

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 28 – The Lone Cormorant

The Lone Cormorant

All alone on this massive stretch of beach
It stands stone still watching the flocks
Of its fellow cormorants fly by.
There are thousands of them heading south.
Not one of them stops to see
What the problem is.
The lone cormorant can walk, can swim
But it just can’t fly.
It can swim for hours in search of a meal
Then return to the beach to rest.
It can open its wings wide after 
Its swim to dry off in the sun.
It can even gently flap its wings,
It just can’t lift off.
This lone bird has been on our section
Of the beach now for over a month.
It still survives, somehow.
It makes not a sound while it stands
Stone still for hours on end
Longingly looking up at the expanse of the
Bright blue sky
In which it may never fly again.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 27 – Doors and Windows

Doors and Windows

Doors and Windows,
They allow us to:
Walk through
Look through
See in
See out
Keep us in
Keep them out
Let light in
Let them in
Open ‘em up
Close ‘em up
Keep cold out
Keep heat in
Check them at night
Lock them tight
Keep us safe
Keep us sound
Keep sound out
Keep secrets in
Pull the shades
Slam them shut
“Welcome” mat in front
Key hidden out back.

Doors and windows
Solid and double-paned
Allow us to live our lives
In peace and quiet.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 26 – Driving Through the Rain

Driving Through the Rain

Driving through the rain
Down this two-lane county road,
Oncoming headlights reflecting
Off my windshield, blinding me
As they pass.
I flick the arm for the wipers
First slow, then faster, then faster still.
They do no good.
The headlights continue to reflect and refract
In the pounding rain.
I wipe my eyes, hoping for some relief
Only to discover that
The rain that has been blinding me
Is coming from my eyes.
My windshield is bone dry
And bug spattered.
I slowly pull over, flick the arm
To still the wipers and sit
Quietly in the dark
While the rain continues to fall.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 25 – Way Too Old to Feel So Young

Way Too Old to Feel So Young

As I rapidly approach my seventy-fifth year
As a guest on this planet,
   (I can’t believe I just wrote that number)
I still feel pretty good.  I still feel young.
No major issues to deal with.
Minor aches and pains which are to be 
Expected after this long using and
Abusing my body machine.
My view of the future is optimistic,
Even though I now need bifocals
In order to see it more clearly.
I have no illusions about my own mortality.
We are all going to cross over eventually.
But I am willing to wait for that inevitable journey.
In my head I think I am still in my thirties,
Even though my body tells a different story.
I still feel good.
Happy to be alive.
So, I wonder,
Am I way too old to feel so young?

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 24 – Does a Watch Know When It Has Stopped Running?

Does a Watch Know When It Has Stopped Running?

Does a watch know when
It has stopped running?
Is it aware of that moment,
Now frozen in time,
When the second hand came to rest
For the final time?
Was there a moment as the 
Second hand was coming to rest,
Where it pulsed in place,
Once, twice, three times?
Trying to move one more click,
Trying to pull the last ounce of energy
From the spent battery,
Trying to get one more second of life?
Tick……………..
Now that the second has come to rest
For the final time
Does the watch know that it’s
Time has finally run out?

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 23 – Two Weeks

Two Weeks 
                        
Two weeks away as of this writing.
Two weeks away from the possibility 
That millions of Americans might vote
For the end of Democracy.
The end of a Democracy that has lasted
Over two hundred and thirty plus years.
Two weeks away from voting for a dictator.
Two weeks away from voting for an orange-haired fascist.
Two weeks away from voting for a
Convicted felon 34 times over.
Two weeks away from voting for a convicted sex offender.
Two weeks away from voting in a serial liar.
Two weeks away from voting for Putin’s puppet
And Kim’s best friend and Orban’s student.
Two weeks away from the end of the Free Press.
Two weeks away.
Won’t Mitch McConnell and Marjorie Taylor Greene
And all the rest be surprised when
He puts the cuffs on them and
Shoves them all into the basement to be forgotten forever.
Two weeks.
We can’t let this happen.
Vote.  Vote smart.
Vote like your freedom depended on it.

				10/22/2024
Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 22 – Lost in a Maze

Lost in a Maze

Woke up this morning
Only to find myself surrounded
By tall, thick, leafy hedges.
I couldn’t see over them,
I couldn't crawl through them.
Still wearing the same clothes as last night
I’m unclear as to how I arrived here.
After trying to get my bearings
I began to search for a way out
Of this hedge-filled world.
I had the choice of right or left.
I chose left and began my journey
Toward, what I hoped, was the exit.
The hedges were everywhere.
No matter where I turned
I turned into another hedge-filled path.
My only desire was that as I stumbled
About hopelessly lost
I was getting closer to freedom
And not dooming myself to this maze
Of green hedges, dirt paths and
An endless series of dead ends.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 21 – Tennis Head

Tennis Head

Hunkered down in front of the fire
On this very chilly early autumn day.
The wind outside is whipping the trees,
Bending them back and forth as though
They are waving at the sky.
The lake water is crashing the shore
In large waves, one after the other.
I sit in my chair comfortably watching
The flames consume the cedar logs.
I turn my head and stare at the waves
Crashing the shore.
Both sights are mesmerizing.
The flames flickering.
The waves crashing.
I look at one, then turn my head,
And look at the other.
I can’t get enough of either.
My head is on a swivel
As though I am watching a tennis match.
Fire……Water……Fire……Water.
Eventually the fire burns down and
I can rest my neck and savor the 
Sight of the waves and wind.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 20 – What About Forgiveness?

What About Forgiveness?

I’ve been holding this grudge
In my heart for way too long.
The energy it takes on a daily basis
To feed and nurture this grudge
Is beginning to take its toll.
I need this energy to heal,
To help me move forward.
I’m tired.  I need to let it go.
I can no longer hold this grudge 
In my heart.
I need something else to hold on to.
What about Forgiveness?
If I exert just a little bit of that
Grudge energy on the act of forgiveness
Who knows what might happen.
I figure it takes only one time to forgive,
Then it is over.
No need to feed forgiveness every day.
I need to let go of this grudge.
So,
What about Forgiveness?

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 19 – Bottom of the Bottle Blues

Bottom of the Bottle Blues

Looking for the bottom of the bottle
He takes another drink.
Then another.
Then another.
He knows that once he reaches 
The bottom of the bottle
His blues will fade away,
If only for a short while.
He finally puts the bottle down
And squints his eye to see
Through the top of the bottle
To the bottom of the bottle
Confirming that he has reached his goal.
He sits back in satisfaction,
The world spinning ever so gently,
And once again hopes that
He was successful in drinking away
His bottom of the bottle blues.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 18 – Bridges

Bridges

I grew up in the ‘Burgh.
The city of bridges.
The city of high hills and deep valleys.
Pittsburgh, that is.
The city of three rivers.
Everywhere you went
You had to cross a bridge.
You were either driving over one
Or under one.
I grew up crossing bridges.
Constantly changing sides.
Constantly bridging one side for the other.
That saying, “We’ll cross that bridge
When we come to it”, had to
Have originated in the ‘Burgh.
Because that is all we did.
We crossed the bridge when we came to it.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

There are 446 bridges in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The most of any city in the United States

In-Word Passage – Day 17 – Razor’s Edge

Razor’s Edge

This shiny edge seems to get
Sharper by the day.
The 1% are crowded around
With whetstones in their hands
And smiles on their faces.
They file away, day after day,
Watching the sharp edge
Slowly slice people until they fall
Off the edge, cut and bleeding.
They watch us struggle
To keep our balance,
Struggle to keep from getting sliced.
They quietly continue to sharpen the edge
Keeping us so focused on
Balancing on the razor’s edge
That we don’t even notice
The 1% crowded around
With whetstones in their hands.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 16 – Pieces of My Heart

Pieces of My Heart

I stumble home from the bar
Where tonight you informed me
That, “It was over”.
I stumble home from the bar
Blinded by my tears,
Unable to stay on the path.
I trip.  I fall.
I cry.  I continue on.
My heart is shattered.
The pieces lay scattered on the ground
Behind me like so many dead leaves.
Please, pay attention to where
You step so as not to crush
My heart.
If you should happen to find
A piece of my heart
Laying on the ground
Do me a kindness and pick it up
Gently, dust it off and
Deliver it quietly to my front door.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 15 – Off the Beaten Path

Off the Beaten Path

It is very mellow here
On this, off the beaten path,
Part of the world.
As dusk approaches
I decide to wander down
The path to the side of the pond.
I like to come here
At this time of day,
When the night is saying hello
And the day is saying goodbye.
I sit on the grassy hillside
And wait for the music to begin.
The music of the frogs and toads.
They build softly, one, then another
Then another until they arrive at 
A loud constant crescendo of croaks,
All counterpointed by the rubbing wings
Of the crickets and the occasional
Howl of a wolf off in the distance.
I sit back, close my eyes, and
Savor the power of the music 
Enriching my soul.
This very mellow, off the beaten path
Part of the world is
Like symphonic music to my ears.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 14 – Scales of Time

Scales of Time

I don’t really like looking
In the mirror these days.
It is not the image reflecting
Back that is the issue.
I actually think I am pretty
Well preserved for my age.
My age,
That is where the rubber meets the road.
If my eyes drift to the left
I am confronted with all the
Years I have left behind.
If my eyes drift to the right
I am confronted with the limited
Number of years I have remaining.
There are so many more years
In my past that there are
In my future, that looking
In the mirror only reminds me
That the scales of time are
Not tipped in my favor.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 13 – Rather Cry Than Pray

Rather Cry Than Pray

For many years I would lower myself
To my knees next to my bed,
Place my elbows on the mattress
And fold my hands in prayer.
I prayed.
I prayed for me.
I prayed for my family.
I prayed for my friends.
All to no avail.
The sick stayed sick.
The pain remained unresolved.
No matter how hard I prayed
My prayers remained unanswered.
It was as though the prayers
Of one young man on his knees
In his bedroom just didn’t matter.
I don’t pray any longer.
When life gets hard,
When people get sick,
When the pain comes back,
I lower myself to my knees
Next to my bed,
Place my forehead on the mattress
And cry.
I’ve decided that I would 
Rather cry than pray.
At least I can watch my tears
Land on my bedside floor.
At least my tears release some 
Of the built-up tension
That life presents every day.
Yes, after many years of unanswered prayers
I’ve decided that I would
Rather cry than pray.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 12 – Hometown Blues

Hometown Blues

Her hometown.
The place where she grew up,
The place that sucked the life out of her.
The place that took almost forty years
To move away from.
Sitting in her newly adopted city
She looks back at her hometown.
The place where her father drank
Himself to death.
The place where her mother lost her youth,
Lost her dreams in the fog of addiction.
The place where she was raped and harassed.
The place where she was stuck.
It took a long while to finally escape,
To find the courage to move away.
She looks back on her hometown now
With more bad memories than good.
She doesn’t miss her hometown.
In fact, the blues that she carries
Around like an albatross all started there.
That is why she calls them
Her hometown blues.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 11 – Suckling Pigs

Suckling Pigs

They crawl around in the mud
Pushing and shoving each other aside,
All in the hope that they can
Get close enough to suck on
The teat and taste the
Sour milk of selfish power.

They get up in the morning,
They put on their red ties,
They look themselves in the mirror
Knowing that it is going to be
A long and dirty day.
Their thirst for power is all consuming.
They know the only way, is to crawl into the mud,
And they do it anyway.
Like starving, suckling pigs
They crawl around in the mud
Pushing and shoving
All in the hopes of getting
A shot at the teat and the
Sour milk it dispenses.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 10 – Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Baseball		Water Polo
Football 		Squash
Softball		Dodge Ball
Basketball		Volleyball
Tennis			FoozeBall
Cricket			Bocce Ball
Soccer			Polo
Billiards		Lacrosse
Pickle Ball		Field Hockey
Pinball			Marbles
Wiffle Ball		Stick Ball
Hand Ball		Spitball
Rugby			Paddle Ball
Jai Alai		Beach Ball
Bowling		        Croquet
Golf			Lawn Bowling
Kickball		Beer Pong
Tee Ball		Mini Golf
Paint Ball		Medicine Ball
Raquet Ball		Balance Ball
Ping Pong		Red Rubber Ball
Jacks

We do love to play with our balls.

Roy W. Backes 
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 9 – Our Garden at 5:00am

Our Garden at 5:00am

I step out into our garden at 5:00am
With the sun still hidden behind
The horizon, but already painting the sky
A glorious blend of orange and yellow.
I stand quietly still allowing the
Creatures around me to relax.
The birds are chirping away loudly
Each one calling to another
While scoping the ground for the worm
Who hasn’t yet buried itself in the earth.
I take notice of the slimy trail left
By a slug moving across a large green leaf.
I find myself hoping it made it to
Safety before becoming breakfast
For one of the birds.
The morning dew leaves everything
Ever so slightly damp, highlighting the
Beautiful spider’s web woven overnight.
A chipmunk scurries along with
Its cheeks already puffed full of food.
A few fairies float by,
Ephemeral as ever,
On their way to wherever
They reside during the light of day.
I stand still in our garden at 5:00am
Waiting for the sun to appear.
But, in the meantime I’ll enjoy
The company of my fellow creatures
As we welcome the day once again.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In- Word Passage – Day 8 – My Arms Are Not Long Enough

My Arms Are Not Long Enough

My arms are not long enough
To be able to wrap you up and hold you close.
My arms are not long enough
To hold you as tight as you need.
My arms are not strong enough
To protect you from the pain of the world.
I try to hold you close, to comfort you
But my arms are just too short.
I try to protect you from the slings and
Arrows of life
But my arms are just not strong enough.
I want to ease your pain.
I want to protect you.
But my arms are not long nor strong enough.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 7 – Time

Time

All light has a source.
Whether it is the sun
A bulb, a flame or a flashlight
We know where the light comes from.
What is Time’s source?
They say, “Time just is.”
It has no beginning and apparently no end.
Time has no source.
It comes from nowhere and everywhere.
“Time just is.”
Time, as we know it, is a manmade construct
To help us keep track of our lives.
The second, the minute, the hour,
The day, the week, the month,
The year, the decade, the century.
“Time just is.”  It passes by
Leaving us in its timeless wake.
As of late I am much too aware of time.
Night, day, dawn, dusk.
The tick of the second hand.
The tock of the minute hand.
Time is passing me by
Like it always has.
But now, I find myself
Thinking about time
All the time.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 6 – Embracing Joy

Embracing Joy

Working hard each day
To embrace the joys of life.
I embrace the light in my wife’s eyes
      When I look at her face.
I embrace the smile on my son’s face
     When he looks at his fiancé. 
I embrace putting the headphones on and
      Listening to Queen Latifa or 
      Billy Price or Willy Porter.
I embrace walking into a theater to
     Watch actors work on stage.
I embrace sitting in a concert hall and
      Listening to symphonic music.
Every day I open my arms wide
     And try to embrace the joys
     That life has to give.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 5 – At Sixteen

At Sixteen

At the time when most girls
Are celebrating their sweet sixteen parties
They seem to be hitting their stride.
Their bodies have begun to form into
The shapes they will carry into life.
They have left the gangly, uncoordinated
Phase behind.  They walk with confidence
Around the dance floor.

Now, me at sixteen, all pimply-faced and shy
Trying to be cool and grooving to the beat
Of Motown.
I hover on the outskirts of the dance floor
Wanting desperately to join in on the fun.
I slowly turn away and check my zipper
Then push myself off the wall of the dance hall
And begin the slow painful walk around
The perimeter of the dance floor
Hoping to see an approving smile
Or even a wink of acknowledgement.
This lonely walk is endless.
After a full circuit I take my place
Against the wall once again
And watch the couples happily dancing
On the floor.

At sixteen I find myself
Way too shy to be here and
Promise myself that at seventeen
I’ll walk this floor once again
With more confidence
And clearer skin.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 4 – Play Me Like a Guitar

Play Me Like a Guitar

Come on Girl,
Take your time and tune me up.
Tighten each of my strings
Till they sound just right.
Come on Girl,
Slowly strum my strings
Keeping the rhythm smooth and easy.
Come on Girl,
Pick my strings with one hand
While the other sets the chords.
Pick slow and melodic or
Fast and raucous till I
Moan in concert with your fingers.
Come on Girl,
Feel free to play me like a guitar.
Then I’ll play you like a piano,
Running my hands up and down
Your beautiful keyboard.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage - Day 3 - The Saying No Blues

The Saying No Blues

For many years I buried my blues by saying yes.
I buried my blues
By saying yes to ice cream, 
     Cookies and cake.
By saying yes to the daily joint,
     Which certainly didn’t help me with
     The ice cream, cookies and cake.
By saying yes to the double shot
     Of bourbon over and over again.
By saying yes to the tequila.
     Yes, I make a mean margarita.
I said yes to bury my blues.
Now it is time to say no to yes
     And face my blues.
By saying no to the ice cream, cookies and cake.
By saying no to the daily joint.
By saying no to the double shot of bourbon.
By saying no to my mean margaritas.
Let me tell you something,
Saying no is difficult.
Saying no is depressing.
For so many years I said yes to bury my blues.
Now, I am saying no.
Now, I am working hard at what I like to call
The saying no blues.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 2 – The Breakup of the Band

The Breakup of the Band

They have been playing together
For a little over five years.
They formed in their second year
Of university and over the years
Have fine-tuned their songwriting and
Gotten so much tighter as a band.
The paid gigs were finally coming
More and more often.
They felt they were hitting their groove
And making a name for themselves.
They were on the rise.
Then the bombs fell.
Destroying their neighborhood,
Destroying their homeland.
Three of the band members were killed
In the bombing, two brothers, bass and drums,
And the lead singer, a woman whose voice
Was as strong as her spirit.
Yesterday they were on the rise
Preparing for their next gig.
Today they are dealing with
The breakup of the band.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024

In-Word Passage – Day 1 – Surrounded By the Wings of Nature

Surrounded By the Wings of Nature

While doing my yoga practice
On the deck that looks out over the lake
I swatted an annoying fly who
Insisted on biting my leg.
Working to stay present I listened to
The buzz of the gnats as they circled my head.
I looked out toward the beach and
Enjoyed a monarch butterfly flitting
And flying in search of some milkweed.
My focus shifted to the finches calling in the trees,
Then watching them fly to and from the feeder.
A flock of geese flew by heading south,
Their V pattern in perfect symmetry.
Of course, the ever-present seagulls dot the sky
As they continue to search for the next school of fish.
To top it all off, the huge bald eagle,
Who resides in a tree just to the north of me
Flies out over the water, then turns
South in its hunt for food.
From gnats to eagles, it is a joy
To be surrounded by the wings of nature.

Roy W. Backes
© 2024