The strong stand tall above the weak
Like predators amidst their prey;
Free to move, to strike, to speak,
With no one there to bar the way
Or laws that bind them to obey
So what is there to stay their hand
And make them rise and choose each day
To do what’s right, not what they can?
The rich may look upon the meek
And think back to a time when they
Had not yet risen to their peak,
When they had debts and bills to pay;
Compassion leads them to allay
The burdens of their fellow man
And search their heart to find a way
To do what’s right, not what they can.
A swordsman’s prowess and technique
Can lead their enemy astray
And when the opening they seek
Presents itself at last they may
Thrust hard as though they seek to slay
Or Temperance may change their plan
To pull their blow and thus essay
To do what’s right, not what they can.
The wisest, be they young or gray
Let Mercy guide their life’s long span
And blessed though they may be still pray
To do what’s right, not what they can.
This poem was written for the 2021 Bardic War wordsmith/scribe/herald relay. The documentation can be found here. Images of the pages can be found here.
