An Ode to Battle, a Cry of War

Eat, sleep, breathe, repeat

The functions of a system yet entirely incomplete

My brainwaves flood the interests of my hearts running beat

I’m left here with the grains of sand of a castle yet to be.

Drained, empty, or flooded,

this motors full of garbage

I’m trying hard to cleanse this beast,

but the years have done their finest.

A second guessing nature leaves me guessing at the door

I've yet to step inside and feel what could be more

Do I forget all the stones I've stepped on the journey to this frame?

Second guessing, cat and mouse is a tricky fucking game.

I’m yes, I’m no

I’m black, I’m white

Your definitions of the infinite never fit quite right

I’m up, I’m down

I’m back, I’m forth

I've never been much of anything that’s ever been before;

You think, I see

I think, you need

This Me and You & You and Me is never quite what it seems

So I ask, you tell

Am I heaven? Are you hell?

Angels and demons are all the same and they’re swimming in our shells.

Charity and chariots,

often misconstrued.

Riding off on horseback to save the far and few

But the monster’s right before us

it’s here and now in this room

Greater than the elephant

Smaller than the shrew.

We meet at level

Eye to eye

to discuss what must be done.

Who will take the blame here?

Who will fall when it’s won?

Is there any way around this?

Any choice we've yet to make?

I suppose we can walk away now

and fight another day.

And where does that leave us?

Hateful from afar?

Trapped in fear and misery,

I’d rather we just spar.

And what then if one shall die,

does the other’s purpose too?

For how can one be a hero

when no monster’s on the loose?

These tricks

These games

Disguised in the robes of a shared name

Misguided in the hopes of a preservational pain

Reflection of the anger that dares not speak its name

Transparent as a wind that rushes through the mane

of a lion sick with fear

that there is nothing left to tame.

I’m backwards

I told you

My front’s been made all wrong

I've built it up with hatred

from a fear of being wrong

And when I look to recreate it

it hurts to sing my song

My voice is cracked and raspy,

not used to being strong;

But if practice makes for perfect

then this story will be long

The knights and queens will meet in teams

to restore the Kingdom’s Love

And when the creatures of the past

come to reap their wrong,

a lion lain with gold will surely drive them off.

So have not the fear that I've carried for years

Have not the whispers of monsters in ear

Pierce them with swords, blessed with your tears

and shine like your armor,

for the battle is here.

February 25, 2020