Month: May 2010

Terza Rima: The Conqueror’s Choice

The Conqueror’s Choice

When men decide to take up arms
Against their neighbors and to fight
O’er castles strong and verdant farms
Declaring that they have the right
To call this place or that their own
By virtue of their sword hand’s might
A seed beneath that land is sown
Plucked from the warrior’s wrathful soul
And needing blood to be full grown.
The sins of war demand their toll
And conquerors must in time decide
To break their foes or leave them whole.
A steely voice speaks from one side
With logic in its cruel design
To never stop till all have died
And raze each house to leave no sign
That any other ever dwelled
Within the fresh-inked border line.
But in the other hand is held
The choice to let the vanquished live
And from their homeland be expelled.
The soft heart is inclined to give
Safe passage to those it has banned
But exiles are slow to forgive
The ones who drove them from their land
And vengeance drives them to return
With hardened heart and sword in hand
To topple tow’rs and watch them burn
Until the land is cleared again
So they may rebuild in their turn.
But two results can follow when
The die is cast and plans are made
To go to war with other men:
The blackened soul and bloody blade
Or mercy’s grace with war repaid.

This is a poem in terza rima written late at night on May 18, 2010.

Sonnet: “The foot may seem to be of little worth”

The foot may seem to be of little worth
Upon the ground besmirched by dirt and dust
And yet its firm connection to the earth
Gives power to the lunging rapier’s thrust.

As well, the hand is such a fragile thing
That it must hide within the gauntlet’s shell
But cleverly its fingers guide the sting
Along a course no parry can repel.

But two eyes are we given for our sight
To mark things near at hand or far away
Yet these are quite sufficient that we might
Know where to strike yet keep our foes at bay.

With foot and hand and eye all three combined
Sure victory is never far behind.

This is an English sonnet written for the winner of the Rapier Tourney at Lusty Month of May, Mikolai Pilypas. It was presented on May 15, 2010.

Sonnet: “The mighty bear strikes out with tooth and claw”

The mighty bear strikes out with tooth and claw
To rend the flesh away from bloody bone
Yet softly does it lick the bear cub’s paw
When sated it returns back to its home.

Likewise the snarling wolf will lead its pack
To leap upon the unsuspecting sheep
All so that it may bring a morsel back
To where its hungry pups lay fast asleep.

A soldier’s sword is forged to go to war
And shed the crimson blood of those it smites
But death is not the purpose at its core
And war is not the warrior’s delight.

The blade defends the lives and honor of
Our kinsfolk and the people that we love.

This is an English sonnet written for the winner of the Rose Tourney at Lusty Month of May, Caius Aurelius. It was presented on May 15, 2010.