Death and Night and Blood

Cort Haus · December 3, 2003, 14:33

no one lived, they never did
to tell the tale the way it went.
the sound of hooves then nothing left
but death and night and blood

two nations proud with doubled shield,
a third in shadow sealed the deal
two with horses, swift of hoof
one with structure, far, aloof

nor grass nor wood, nor hill nor plain
would give respite from endless pain
as formless foe strikes here and there
then vanishing like deadly rain

a quest to turn the tide of fate
a bid, a hope, a chance, a stake
to flip the dice as ancient cast
and melt the ice to carve a pass

when last we got to raise our sword
so from the shadow stepped the third
ok, we call - we know the score
all against - as told in lore

save one, our friend we fought to save
in hill and forest all over spain
till refuge we would offer them
in our homes as kith and kin

so sleep was banished
and thoughts were forged
as every effort was bent towards
a deal to keep our friends alive
to find a peace so they'd survive

but then to even more dismay
our gesture spun another way
as propaganda against ourselves
'those evil stormies' came the howls

yet there was more to our lament
for to our friends our foe had bent
and wooed with praise and high regard
whilst dammning us with splintered shards

no one knows how many came
no one knows to where they went
the sound of hooves, then nothing left
but death and night and blood

UnOrthOdOx · December 3, 2003, 14:47

Very Nice.

Cort Haus · December 3, 2003, 14:54

Thanks UnO

Aggie · December 3, 2003, 15:08

I am impressed.
Aggie

asleepathewheel · December 3, 2003, 15:24

Wow

vondrack · December 3, 2003, 15:30

Wow, that's wonderful.

Theseus · December 3, 2003, 15:32

Wow, where did that come from??!!

The Fall of the War Chickens, indeed!!

Cort Haus · December 3, 2003, 15:57

Quote:

where did that come from?

Well, the title came from a song by The Stranglers off the Black & White album 1978.

Apart from that it's all original - as far as I know. Being a LOTR fan, the rhythm and tone was possibly inspired by "Gilgalad was an Elven King, of him the harpers sadly sing ..." etc

IMV, tragedy works better emotionally in poems and prose than glory, so it occurred to me that the Stormian perspective is ideally positioned to contibute to the cultural-historical record.

There's also a serious propaganda gap here to be addressed, but that's by-the-by

ZargonX · December 3, 2003, 16:15

Since we're talking poetry, I thought I'd share a little ditty popular in the Legopolis pubs...

Jimmy was a blockhead, Jenny was a square
people always told them they made the perfect pair.
But one night in the bedroom, Jimmy caught his peg
now Jim has got an empty spot, and Jen an extra leg.

GhengisFarb™ · December 3, 2003, 17:10

Very good.

badams52 · December 3, 2003, 18:03

Excellent Cort Haus.

It's been too long since we've seen posts like this in the public forum.

I remember laughing so loud after reading the line: 'Grog fought like a girl.'

Let's bring those days back.

Hot_Enamel · December 3, 2003, 18:10

Exceptional work

conmcb25 · December 3, 2003, 18:14

I love the Stranglers. Haven't heard em in ages. Didn't know there was folks around around who actually listen to REAL Punk Rock!

Great Poem BTW

Cort Haus · December 3, 2003, 19:11

con, real punk rock is as important as civ

Well, almost. I should be learning a new song arrangement now.

Thanks everyone, for the comments. I'd like to say to all players that I'm really enjoying the game, despite the challenges. As Aggie says on another thread, we are breaking experimental ground in team and civ dynamics, and as Jim Morrison said ".. proud to be a part of this number".