A Four Year Engagement

One I am young Terribly alone. I know life Death, despair, fear. Fatuous superficiality cast Over an abyss of sorrow. The first bombardment Showed my mistake. Go courageously into every action. A cacophony of noise: Gunshots and artillery. It is a wonder I do not slip On bullet casings and bodies. Know thyself, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories. Two Death is working from within. Look at his bed covering: He has lost his foot. Under the skin, life no longer pulses. Reach out to help the dying; Lose your limbs, if not your life. One misstep spells your doom With words written in your blood. I am riddled with bullets. Salt water is the currency of pain. Confront your enemy with annihilation, And they will survive. Tread carefully: Minefields ahead. Three Guns open fire. I shiver and am glad to think I shall be back home soon. The tragedy of war is that it uses Man’s best to do man’s worst. Words are knives that often leave scars And the scars of the mind are too often permanent. My blood becomes a trail of breadcrumbs I am their target A fox chased by hounds. Animal instinct is awakened Far quicker, much more sure, less fallible Than consciousness. I restrain my fangs And continue my hasty retreat. Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent. Four Were I in charge, I would wash the feet of those beneath me For I understand that to lead Is to serve. The general who advances without coveting fame Is the jewel of the kingdom. A good commander is benevolent. Our commander has not appeared So allies were made But not trusted. Use them and leave them, Another casualty of this war. I am not one of them; I was not wanted anyways. Hit me Hurt me Burn me You will not break me. I have pretended inferiority and Encouraged your arrogance. You think yourself the lion, But you will realize, Too late, That you are the lamb And I, your butcher. Five No man is an island But if we were not, we would be lost, Drowned in each other’s tragedies. I am so alone And so without hope That I can confront them without fear. I am very quiet. Can we ever truly create the illusion That we are for a moment not alone? Let the great world spin for ever Down the ringing grooves of change, And let me go. Let me leave and nurture my wounds. Victory is mine. But what is the price I have paid?