By brian francis
To war I rode a speckled mare
With spear and bow
With tack and ale
To war I went and left my bride
To never again, laugh by her side
The fight was long beneath the sun
With ebb and flow
With cheer and mourn
The clash of steel rang in the air
joy and mourn were married there
Upon the field I found life’s end
My last thought her face
My breath her name
And there my life did pass away
Into darkness from the light of day
Copyright ©2021 brian francis
By brian francis
A soldier left for war one day
Tears were flowing as he walked away
The soldier marched with honor and pride
Knowing that God was on his side
And in the field among his friends
He served with valor, true to his code
Whenever a task drove others to balk
Stepping forward he would carry the load
Compassion though uninvited to war
Seemed always near to his heart
Seeing battlefield children’s needs go unmet
With kindness he tried to do his small part
And after serving his tour and more
And bidding goodbye so many times
To flag draped boxes — the refuse of war
He returned at last to the family he loved
As the end of his journey through war neared
The ever present feel of it somehow remained
Deep in his soul lasting scars were seared
Unknown changes forever made….
Copyright ©2020 brian francis
by Brian Francis
Without irony
When a people choose to challenge fate
And run head on into conflict and chaos
When the course is set
And aggression is released from its cage
To invite horrors and death to mingle
And dance among their foe
The blood feast begins in the flash of a moment
When fear and terror join to defeat reason
And bind hidden the hands of peace
Forcing the alchemy of destruction
To lay waste and devastate the enemy
Often in the name of god
The aura of contempt is seen
In the eyes of the soldier
A blinder to protect his own mind
A justification of sorts
A place for the images to reside
A place for righteousness to reign
Face to face with their own mortality
Threat is seen in the eyes of the enemy
His posture, his face, his indecent purpose
All good reasons to kill a man
Even without pleasure, battle sings freely
As pain and mutilation breathe deep
Death howls at the abundance
At the carnage presented before it
Lovingly embracing this dimming of light
Drawing in those lost souls
Whose time has ended
Whose day has passed
Copyright © 2020 Brian Francis
By brian francis
There are flowers once again
in the hands of young men,
as they give them to their girls
before they leave and go to war.
There are tears of goodbye
in the corner of the eye,
as the soldiers march away
and once again, they go to war.
And for the names of those who fall
should we build another wall;
another place to stand and cry
remembering those lost to war?
Now in this time of great needs
our nation suffers and it bleeds.
Politicians lead us with lies
and once again we are at war.
Copyright ©2020 brian francis
Wordsmith: At The Forge 