we have lost our souls
when children
are collateral
~kat

burdens we carry
for sake of obligation
forsake what matters
~kat
For Haiku Horizons Challenge, Prompt Word, Load (Burden, Obligation).

hope swells defiant
‘midst a tyrant’s oppression
ashes to embers
~kat
For Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge, Prompt Words: Hope & Tyrant.

it’s not flattery
but acknowledgement
rouses our spirits,
yet we save for eulogies,
lauds the dead will never hear
~kat
For Colleen Chesebro’s Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge using synonyms only for the prompt words praise (flattery, acknowledgement, eulogies, lauds) and excite (rouses).