Words on War

By: Gus Victoria 

War, the blood-sealed oath

Of a people to die,

Forsaken peace

To conquered smoke,

Captured in a memory,

Gone in an instant,

Remembered today,

Forgotten tomorrow,

Repeat the dance,

Death the partner

Leads ever faster

Despair and sorrow,

Gifts to the wedded pair,

Hope beaten,

A casualty of consequence,

A prisoner of circumstance,

The dagger buried

In a heart to the hilt

Is the only mercy promised,

Is the only release given,

Mars rules a vale of tears,

And shadows stalk,

Bridesmaids to Death,

Harbingers of Destruction,

Doubts fill the empty minds,

As they try

To remember a pastoral past,

A remnant of hope,

A sliver of peace.

Then the cannons roar

To quiet the rebel heart

Still whole,

The cries rise

Up through blackened skies

And no one pretends to hear,

We burn together,

We die alone.

War is our inheritance,

Death our birthright,

And Hope…

Hope is…?