Casualties of War
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Angels Called Her Name

The moment that the sun's gentle rays
Lit up her new born face
The eyes of the babe
Turned heavenward
As if she heard the angels call her name.

The girl grew older, more beautiful, and wiser--
Applauded and admired by all around her.
Farther and wider spread the fame
Of the child with parents so proud
That they swore the very angels called her name.

Ever so quickly the years passed by,
Only adding to her grace and humility.
With her maturity an awareness came,
And the young woman again looked up;
She thought she heard the angels call her name.

From her life an unearthly radiance flowed;
Within the hearts of those around her it was imbued,
But dimmer grew her own soul's flame
Until it had poured out its all.
She had answered when the angels called her name.
--~}@{~--


Death Won... This Round

The slow, mournful pace of the funeral dirge
Mingled with falling tears and bereaved sobs
In the harmony of a sacred and foreign key.
Black cloth covered all the windows, doors, and walls
Of the stone chapel in the center of the graveyard.
People crowded the aisles, flooded the pews,
And still more surrounded the tiny chapel.
Men wore black suits, women black dresses
And hats with veils that hid their swollen eyes.
Across the country and the world people moved like automatons
Afraid to admit the truth and their loss.
Children were left confused, and wondering
Why their parents were crying in the kitchen.
Businesses closed, schools shut their doors;
Even the dogs were silent and refused to eat.
The casket was lifted and carried to the waiting grave.
A few people, crazed and blinded by their sorrows,
Flung themselves at the coffin to halt its progress,
Only to be taken away to be calmed down.
Then it was lowered-- slowly, deliberately, reluctantly--
Into the gaping hole waiting to devour
The offering none wanted to give.
The sound of the dirt hitting the lid
Laughed at and mocked the crushed spirits of the world
With the cold slap of death caught full in the face.
It made the strongest and bravest struggle
To keep from retching from the sickening irony.
Then, little by little, the churning sea of black dissipated
And left their parting gifts on the disgustingly fresh mound
That stood, alone and proud on the top of the grassy knoll.
The only thing the mourning people of the world knew
Was that death had won this round,
And the one that contested his might was the only casualty taken.
--~}@{~--


Angel Faces Lie

People trust in their kindly faces
Because their eyes do not deceive.
The words of hope that they tell them
Say great gifts they will receive.

They flock to hear their silvery voices
And to see their loving grins.
They have no fear of the dark secrets
They don't know are deep within.

People trust in them completely
And believe everything they say.
They don't know that inside their souls
Is where devils love to play.

They make everything seem so pretty,
As if the world were made of gold,
But so far down deep inside them
Is a heart that has long grown cold.

Those who were deceived by them
Will never be the same.
They lost themselves in their gentle words
And can't find the pieces that remain.

Some realize the falsehoods
And nearly miss the certain fate
Of the others who were caught by their honey-tipped tongues
That are an almost certain bait.

But there are some that do know better,
Are not so easily taken in,
And in the final battle
The few will finally win.

They may not win the first fight
Although with all their heart they'll try;
And they'll forever warn the ones that don't know
That angel faces lie.
--~}@{~--


Columbus' Prayer

Haven of gods, can it be true?
Haven of gods, on distant shores of the blue.
Haven of gods, let me pass through your gate.
Haven of gods, not a fantasy place.

Haven of gods, let me touch your shores.
Haven of gods, bid me lie with your whores.
Haven of gods, your beauty cannot be surpassed.
Haven of gods, your virgin doors I must break past.

Haven of gods, I must be there.
Haven of gods, with women fine and fair.
Haven of gods, such a wondrous abode.
Haven of gods, rich in silver and gold.

Haven of gods, now that I see you I want you ever more.
Haven of gods, you exist in truth not merely lore.
Haven of gods, let me of your banquet partake.
Haven of gods, so bountiful I want all I can take.
--~}@{~--


Illusion

She followed the sound of his gentle voice
Into the dark abyss.
His hands reached out to hold her
Then took her through the mist.

His eyes held her captive
In a gaze of unfathomable depth.
A scent of intermingled fragrances
Led her to the gate of death.

He opened the gate and passed slowly through
Then drew her, too, inside.
Once there his illusions faded away
To reveal the truth hidden within the lies.

Oh, he always told the truth,
But he made it seem to be something else.
There she vowed to avenge her loss,
To give back all he had dealt.

Throughout eternity their fight goes on,
Neither to lose, or to win.
She wants back the life he took from her.
She never should have given love, or trust, to him.
--~}@{~--


Pyre

Solemn silence of sacred thought--
An eye turned within, another without;
Face downcast in homage to purity sought,
Release is with such a precious price bought.

Earth the prison, flame the key,
Water within released to sky,
Granting to the essence born to be free
Wings of smoke to once again fly.

Nature bowed on its knees, uplifted in prayer
Before the sanctity of consuming pyre,
Life belatedly redeemed in the breath of fire,
Raising the unchained to an existence far higher.

With the rebirth of life,sorrow is finally assuaged;
No longer is the faultless by the stench of death plagued.
In the restoration of spirit not meant to be caged
Longer is postponed the battle one day to be waged.
--~}@{~--


Delusions

He looked down into the gaping chasm
That offered him peace through final rest.
All his worries would be left far behind him;
Or so he thought, as he flew through the abyss.

He thought that he had finally beaten them,
The incessant whispers in the back of his mind;
But, little did he know, he had condemned himself
To hear the torturous whispers for all time.
--~}@{~--


Love of the Dark

She was born well out of her element
In a city where all was foreign and strange.
She was lost in a place where all was neatly laid out.
She longed so for the wide open range.

Born in a place where all was wrong
She struggled to find the right.
The only place she could find any comfort
Was in the cold embrace of the night.

There she could see what was hidden,
And she understood all she was shown.
By daylight everything became hazy and unclear,
And she forgot what she should have known.

She always knew she was different
Her parents never loved her, they only gave her a name.
She saw others with loving families and friends;
She only wished she could be the same.

Slowly she grew to love the dark--
It accompanied her everywhere she went,
Talked to her like the best friend she never had,
Taught her like the loving parents fate never sent.

She did not mind the way it tainted all she saw,
Or that she would never know love or happiness.
That did not matter much to her,
For to have them she would stand to gain much less.

The darkness told her secrets no mortal should know,
In turn she told it of life on earth.
It asked her to join it in the midnight land
So it could destroy her world for lack of any redeeming worth.

She pleaded for its cause and said all was not lost,
There were still a few who of holiness had some sense.
For love of her the dark relented,
At least until she could see the reasons behind its request.

She owed all she was to the darkness,
And, when she was ready, she gave it its due.
Though the night can be more than one could ever ask for,
Just pray it does not ask for you.
--~}@{~--


A Shadow
(Gabe)

He searches with haunted eyes for a thing he cannot name,
Turning away when it cannot be found where he is looking.
He sees the reflection of this nameless thing,
Even glimpses it through the fog,
But a shadow is not enough for him;
He wants to see the light.

He reaches out a hand for help never taking what is offered,
Sacrificing himself on the altar of his indifference.
He does not understand his quest and does not bother to care.
He only knows that what he seeks exists, not when or how or where;
So he tries everything he thinks will bring him closer to it,
Knowing only that he cannot stop, without knowing why.

Perfection is his idol; he bows before it as a god.
Nothing matters to him unless it is the absolute best.
He rejects the mountain peaks he has already attained
For the sake of the heavens above;
Though the clouds lie behind, the stars are still ahead,
And he cannot give in until there is no point left to pass.

He casts aside the little things, for they are of no use to him;
Details are important only if they speed him toward his goal.
He pauses, when he must, to figure out what his next move will be;
If he should ever stop, though,
Maybe he would notice
That he has become no more than the shadow he chases,
And he has extinguished the light within.
--~}@{~--


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