Draft in the author’s style. This poem was written for Poet in the Battlefield to sit beside the author’s own readings, and is waiting for the author’s review. The commentary is a working draft too.
I laid my sword upon the altar where the sacred scriptures lay,
And asked which one should guide me on the long and stormy day.
The sword said, I can cut a path through thickets and through foes,
But I cannot mend a broken heart or soothe a mourner's woes.
The scripture said, I speak of peace, of mercy and of love,
Of the strength that lives in kindness and the wisdom from above.
So I took the sword to shield the weak and the book to lead my way,
For a blade without a conscience is a danger in the fray.
So I walked into the battle with a prayer upon my breath,
And I fought to end the fighting, that the world might rest from death.
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Commentary
This poem places a warrior at an altar and lets a sword and a book each speak. Their answers give a picture of strength that needs both power and conscience.
The speaker “laid my sword upon the altar where the sacred scriptures lay” and asks which should guide the day. The sword says, “I can cut a path through thickets and through foes,” but admits, “I cannot mend a broken heart.” The scripture says, “I speak of peace, of mercy and of love.”
The speaker takes both: “the sword to shield the weak and the book to lead my way,” because “a blade without a conscience is a danger in the fray.” The poem ends with the speaker walking to battle “with a prayer upon my breath,” fighting “to end the fighting.”