On Hunger Games: The Mockingjay War

On The Hunger Games Trilogy:

The Mockingjay War
By Terri Lynn Cummings

Hope feasts on love and then hungers for more,
         Fear feasts on thirst and not killing to score.
Control starves the mind and holds people below,
         Success starves the feelings for friend, family, and foe.

Hunger Games punish the Districts each year,
         Hunger Games punish by cruelty and fear.
Twelve Districts watch the show with stunned regret,
         Twenty-four children must fight to the death.

Tributes are reaped from the fields of fresh minors,
         One Victor reaped from the Game is survivor.
Mentors are spread among Tributes to teach,
         Victors are spread through the Capitol as treats.

Districts must sacrifice children as collateral,
         Gamekeepers sacrifice fairness as usual.
Peacekeepers keep Districts well under control,
         Capitol keeps the Games forcing a blow.

Girl Tribute fights to sustain and protect,
         Her Mentor fights to disguise disrespect.
Boy Tribute loves the girl, wants her to win,
         His Mentor loves to direct and pretend.

Endurance displayed shrouds a spirited girl,
         Compassion displayed routs her rival's will.
Activity veiled makes her death passé,
         Leadership veiled makes her Mockingjay.

Mockingjay bird sings a word, tune, or song,
         Mockingjay leader sings all that is wrong.
Dictator rule shouts imperious commands,
         Tyranny shouts its self-serving demands.

Districts brave hardships to rise and declare,
         Soldiers brave death when their orders aren’t clear.
Dictator fears loss when support disappears,
         Victors fear laws when deceit reappears.

Soldiers seek healing when battles are won,
         Victors seek reason for injustice done.
Mentors shun mirrors when no longer grand,
         Districts shun bloodshed when victory’s at hand.

Mockingjay lives with a treasonous act,
         Mockingjay lives for a future intact.
Mockingjay hopes that her love will unfold,
         Mockingjay hopes her own child will be bold.