Vain War

Eyes like iodine and breath like sulfur

His visage dark, yet pallid

He rose from the sepulcher

 

His shroud is raven black, his form bereft

Draw near him if you dare it

You shall find his tongue is cleft

 

His forkéd tongue he forged through boastings vain

One side offers only lies

And the other only pain

 

For sooth, there is no hope in him, no life

Though what he offers seems sweet

‘Tis but candy-coated strife

 

Behold his sickle: silver, long, and sharp

To cut short the singer’s songs

And to maim the player’s harp

 

O’er eons now, he’s crept across the earth

Putting innocence to death

Since the dawning of its birth

 

A bone white steed he rides across the soot

To trample Truth and Mercy

And to crush Love underfoot

 

Beneath the soot, though, fertile land is found

Where Truth and Love take root

Mercy soaks into the ground

 

Despite the horse’s stomping fast and hard

He cannot stop them growing

Truth and Love cover the yard

 

Through iodine eyes he cannot see clear

Trials only strengthen Love

Truth and Mercy defeat fear

 

And yet, he wages battle as before

And fights against a Foe who

Has already won the war.

 

Reviews

[Brenden Taylor]

I love this. I actually like the iambic language and archaic word choice. The third stanza is my personal favorite because in it, you tap into the traits of the biggest sin of all: pride.