The sun rises on the fifth day
An ill omen, a sign of things to come
It burns blood-red in the height of summer
We seek fame & glory, riches & plunder
We march to the beat of a steady drum
Only forward, we have our orders
We meet the enemy with full force
Armed to the teeth and ready for war
The horses were saddled, but we left them behind
The terrain was more treacherous than we had anticipated
A foul wind blew, stirring up the desert
Blinding us, covering us in a layer of dust
But onwards we march, stopping at nothing
Our sights are set on glory
We will settle for nothing less
We were ready for a war, but not for the battle
The enemy caught us by surprise
Surrounded on all sides
Hidden beneath the sand
Waylaid by snares and traps
We never had a chance
The storm was nothing natural
A conjuring from a powerful sorcerer
The battle was over before it had begun
Our force routed and scattered
Men crying, men fleeing, men dying
They expected us to surrender
But we would rather die before we do
The warrior spirit never dies
Ever looking for a new host
Our stories live on in legend
Passed down through the generations
No cowardice, no surrender
We fought until the end
To a man we all perished
All except for one
The chosen one, the man of prophecy
The one foretold to bring about a day of glory
The one that would unite us
The one who would make our foes suffer
The one whose hammer and sword struck fear in the hearts of man
Our hero, our savior, our god
The blood-red sun foretold a tale of doom
But it wasn’t our doom
It wasn’t our destruction
The battle may have been lost
But the war wasn’t over
We had been ambushed
The folly of fools is being unprepared
And unprepared we were not
For we had magic of our own
A second horde hidden in shadow
Waiting for the signal
Our hero was the bait
Luring the enemy in
One man in all his glory
What good could one man do?
But he was our savior, our god
Strength beyond compare, a whirlwind was he
A blood-red sun, a bloody day
Men were lost, but valor won us that day
A blood-red sun, an ill omen
A tale of doom, but not our own
Heroes may die, but legends live on
A blood-red sun
Death came not to us that day
Category Archives: Poetry
The Lies that They Told Us
We were young and naive
Believing everything they told us
Following blindly, aimless like sheep
We didn’t know any better
We were just kids, told that “mama knows best”
Who were we to question it?
We were learning to be human
But they had already learned
Parents, teachers, authority figures
Been through decades of life
While were yet children
Seen things for themselves
Experienced what life had to offer
But we are not them, and they are not us
The older we get, the more we understand:
The lies that they told us
The ways they tried to brainwash us
How we were manipulated
But our eyes have been opened
We know better
We aren’t as lost
We’ve found ourselves
And we’ve found some answers
We’re not as innocent
Not as helpless
The lies that they told us are no longer our truths
The lies that they told us tether us no longer
We find our own way
No longer needing a helping hand
We are our own guidance
We are our own brand
No longer subject to the lies that they told us
We’ve found freedom in knowing:
That we aren’t bound to the past
We’re free to be
Free to believe
We are our own, finding our way
We are at home within ourselves
Truth is hidden within us all
We only need to unveil it
Each man walks a different path
Each journey tells a different story
We find our own way, and forget what they told us
We turn a corner and leave them behind
The lies that they told us control us no more
Where Darkness Lies
On the road again
On a journey to the unknown
We started out with high hopes
But didn’t know where we would go
We thought we would trailblaze, but didn’t know how
We were unprepared for what was to come, nothing for it now
Went forth with the understanding: learn along the way
We failed to realize that it only made us easy prey
On the road again
Going where darkness lies
On the road again
With no end point in mind
We went forth with high hopes
Thinking us pioneers
Thinking us wise
Thinking we knew better than nature
But in truth, we were blind
We went forth thinking we were prepared
for what life threw at us
We thought we could influence the scenery around us
We thought… We thought… We thought…
But it was not enough
Wherever we may roam, darkness soon follows
A blight on the land, a pox on every man
The path ahead is where darkness lies
The path ahead is full of sorrow
The path ahead, the path ahead
Full of misery, full of pain
Our good intentions were just that
We thought we’d make a difference
We thought we’d do better
We thought we knew what was best
But we knew nothing
Just another colonist thinking we knew what was right
Just another colonist fucking up daily life
On the road to misery, we didn’t know we were headed
Spreading famine and misfortune, death’s angel
Territorial and possessive, claiming that which isn’t ours
Onward we may roam, but darkness is bound to follow
Where we go is where darkness lies
The burden of man is draining on the land
Each man is responsible, would be better off dead
On the road again to where darkness lies
On the path of darkness is where all hope dies
War Eternal
A fight for inner peace
Striving for better
Wanting, waiting, wishing for a hero
A fight within, turmoil without
Trying to do better, but not knowing how
A sensitive spirit, thin skin, weak flesh
No resolve, lacking mental fortitude
Not sound of body, not sound of mind
Not willing to leave a past life behind
Not willing to compromise, not willing to heed advice
The war eternal rages on
Never to end, never to conclude
Two spirits different as different can be
Two spirits never to see: eye to eye again
Never to be: close together again
Never to be, never to be
The war eternal rages on
A fight for understanding
Looking for meaning
What was was, now is lost
Never to be rekindled, never to be healed
Never to be mended
Never to be, never to be
One soul lost, veering down the wrong path
One soul lost, stubborn as can be
The war eternal rages on
War within, war without
One looking for meaning, striving for better
The other refusing to change
One seeking greatness, looking to be the best they can be
The other wanting things to stay the same
Wallowing in mediocrity, stagnant and unmoving
One seeking knowledge, wanting to know more
The other thinking that they know all
The war eternal rages on
Never to conclude, never to end
Two souls on divergent paths
Stars never to align
Never to be, never to be
Ships passing in the night
Once friends, never again
The war eternal rages on
Like it Used to Be
A longing for the past
Remembering the old times
Things aren’t as they were
Circumstances aren’t the same
What once was, is now just a distant memory
A flashback to the past
Reminiscence of that which has gone by
We had our good times, we had our bad
We had our triumphs, we had our struggles
We came out stronger, we came out smarter
We came out better
The moments taught us
The adversity strengthened us
The pain molded us
The experience emboldened us
Our past informs our future
Gives us that which we need
Who we were is not who we are
We strive to be different
Different from them, different from us
Not destined to repeat past mistakes
Not confined to a box
It’s not like it used to be
We can never return
It’s all just a distant memory
A recollection of our past
Perhaps it’s better that way
We live and we learn
We grow and we progress
On the path of life there’s only one direction
We go forward and never look back
Who we were is not who we are
We’re not confined to a box
The older we get, the wiser we get
The more we know, the better we can become
We reflect on the past, grateful for where we came from
But we know there’s more in store for us
Something greater, something better
It’s not like it used to be, but that’s okay
What used to be pales in comparison to what could be
Reach out and seek the gift that has been given
A reward for your dedication
Recompense for the good you have done
You are better than you used to be, and that is enough
JHUMWRITES—A Mental Health Blog 