They say each breath is a gift
Even while inhaling the fumes
Of a world in agony.
That every life is sacred
As millions of children die
Without the sustenance they require.
And that all will come in time
As they tap their feet and angrily watch their clocks waiting for the deadline.

In a sea of sand
A single grain
Holds the
Weight of a star
They interact
Shifting and sifting
In rippling waves
Edge to edge
If one grain
Were to vanish
The shape of
The wave would change
The edges would fold
And the sea would collapse

The moment
You first open
A bottle of
Good bourbon

They say the first days,
The younger days,
Are pure and sweet.
And the hours spent
Playing war
Are nothing more than
Childish visions of glory.
They do not point toward
A lust for blood
Or an embrace with pain.
But the game kept going,
And we kept marching in place.
They took away my swing set
And replaced it with a cannon.
The things I wanted to see
Are now things
I never wish to again.
Never show emotion.
Never show pain.
The only easy day
was yesterday.
You're a warrior,
Warriors don't cry.
You're a soldier,
So act like it.

By the grace
Of the moonlight
Upon icy winds
Take to the sky
Fly Dragonfly
Away from
This world
Full of painful cries
Fly Dragonfly
Save yourself
From this fate
Drowned in lies
Fly Dragonfly
Fly Dragonfly

Pull the trigger,
Revel in darkness.
Put down the gun,
Mourn your mortality.

On the final day
Does the pain give way?
When I bring myself to my end
Will I finally be happy?
Will the freedom from
Flesh and feeling
Allow me to spend eternity
Alone with the universe?
Only one way to find out.

I inhale nicotine
Exhale amphetamines
And cry carcinogenic tears
But I still can't become
Numb enough not to care

When you realize
We as a species
Are a disease on this world
She will heal
When Judgement comes
And we burn from her surface

It really is amazing
How a human hand
Can turn taught strings
Into a song that touches the soul.

Too tired to sleep
And I know my dreams
Will be soaked in
Blood and sweat
And waking up
Means blaming myself
For the friends I lost
All over again

It's unnerving
To scream silently
Into a void
And be greeted
By deafening silence

I grow weary of this world
As I have time and time again.
The rush to rise in status,
To earn pointless promotions.
To find love,
To form connections.
It's an endless cycle
Of ups and downs.
To be happy on the good days
And numb on the bad to survive.
The battlements have stood barren
For far too long.
I will rebuild
And reinforce the stone.
For now I will rest in my cage
And let the world burn itself to ash
As the angels keep whispering
You will be saved
In a world that's beyond saving.

I've loved those I didn't know
I've hated those I loved
I've broken and been broken
I've been aggressor
And defender
I've stood shoulder to shoulder
With the bravest men and women
Among a storm of blood and bile
And I've turned tail and run
In times of strife.
To me it seems
The next change in me
Is only the flip of a coin away

I've reached the low
I'd gladly take any of those
Who've wronged me
Just to avoid spending
Another night alone

I'm drowning in a world
That I no longer recognize.
I see a stranger in the mirror
And I can't remember the faces
Of the people I used to love.
I remember the men I used to be
A million metamorphoses later.
I've seen every side of me there is
And every face has taken its turn.
Who am I now?

I won't be shamed
For the things I've done
The lives I've taken
I do what I do
For a reason.
My family and I
My brothers and sisters
We fight for your right
To call us killers
And spit in our direction
I once said I was a wolf
But I was wrong
For I've faced the wolf
And his savagery knows
No bounds
So we vowed to protect you
The innocent
The sheep
For the herd has us
To defend
And avenge it
The Sheepdogs

In between conscious
And unconscious
I see the things I dont want to.
Like the 37 days in Kuwait,
The fourteen hours in combat,
The two brothers I dragged
Behind the APC,
The 6 rounds stopped
By my plate carrier,
And the one that punched through
Shattering my clavicle
And ending my career.
Not to mention
My fireteam
Fused to their seats
After hitting an IED
All while I bled in a shack
Covered in blood,
Mud and ****.
The things I don't talk about.
The things nobody knows.
Because even telling the story
Raises ever more ******* questions.
And again.
I don't want to talk
About these things.
So count yourself lucky.
To be among those who read this.

A life spent
In a mental prison
Wears on you.
We try to count the days
Scratching lines
On the walls.
Walls made of skin,
Bone, muscle and tendons.
These scars are not
A show of weakness.
These scars are a sign
Of survival.
Though some may
Shun them.
Some may see them
As messy.
I keep my scars
To show how many times
I've been cut deep
And kept clawing
Out of the pit they
Threw me in to.

Neck deep in sand
Drowning in a desert
Each grain rubs raw
The nerves beneath
My surface.

By this blade
I free myself from
My weaker flesh
That it may be replaced
By scars and calluses.
I break myself before
Any other can
Because I
Never break
Twice.

When I am gone
Know that what I did,
I did for those I love.
Every life extinquished
I did to protect you.
You will not read this.
You will have no reason to
Until after I've passed.
Be it today
Or after eons passed.
I stood at ready.
My eyes were open.
I saw clearly.
I lived as I should have
Restless.
I will have died as I lived.
In blood and bile.
Though I saw the faces
Of those I'd toppled
In my dreams,
My only wish was
That the dreams ended
When I reach my final sleep.

Though I may walk
Through The Valley
Of The Shadow
Of Death
I shall fear no Evil.
Thy hand shall guide me.
Thy will shall light my path.
Thy wrath shall clear my way.
So I may bring thy Judgement
On Thine opponents.
And fill the oceans with
Thine enemies' blood.
And bring peace unto
The innocent.
I shall know no peace
Till I find my final rest.
No love
Until I see my family in the after.
Thy hand to my weapon.
Thy sight unto mine eyes.
As leaves before the storm
Thine enemies shall fall.
Till Valhalla calls for me.
Amen.

~The Warrior~

When a soul's match
Rejects it,
Only to Send it ever
Twisting, twirling
Through the cosmos
Till it comes to rest
In a pit
On the edge
Of nowhere

Life and Death
Love and Hate
A life lived ******
Is a live lived lonely

Sleepless by starlight
Lining the clouds with silver
A shimmering rain paints
The ground below
With chrome

I sit and ponder
How a steady mind
Can pick through a pile
Of cluttered characters
And combine them
Into words that can
Change the world.

The strings quake
Mournful reverberations
Echoing off the walls.
Note by note
A story is told
Until the song ends.
And the feeling lingers.

It's a morbid comfort
Knowing that each time
My heart beats
Draws it closer
To the day it finally stops.

She asked me why.
I told her the truth.
My head is so empty
The silence so loud
A single cut makes it
Easier to sleep.
She didn't understand.
Nobody does.
You have to be insane
To understand things
That make no sense
Like me.

When I'm called home,
And the halls of Valhalla
Ring with recollections
Of love, loss and redemption.

Remember Me.

When the children scream
For their parents,
The thieves confess to the ******,
And the blood of the lamb washes over,

Remember Me.

When the Gods strike the earth,
The trees smolder and cry,
And lightning batters your cities.

Remember Me.

When your buildings fall into the sea,
When your allies are raiding your lands
When the sand and the snow trade forms.

Remember Me.

For I warned you that this was coming.
And I'm not coming to save you anymore.

After all this time.
One truth stands out.
A cold steel blade
Is still more dependable
Than a flesh and blood
Human being.
Because people change.
But I can always keep
My knives sharp.

Dead men do not tell
Their stories to us
Because there are no ears
Among the breathing
Patient enough to listen.

If there were?
We might learn
From their mistakes.
And find a life worth
Living left behind.

Life is a road
We are all cursed to walk,
Plagued by demons
Mischievous they are,
Haunted by a ticking clock.

For we all have our end
But the folly is we tend
To prematurely surrender.

I stopped today,
On a bench.
Underneath a staunch oak,
Blanketed with honeysuckle
17 miles outside of
Memphis Tennessee.

Admiring the twisting
Of the thunderheads,
As a gentle rain dug into the dust.

I smiled,
Absorbing the gold and grey,
And spoke.

"Please, my friends.
I know you are there.
Let's not dally any longer.
We all know what you
Have come for."

Three emerged
From the shadows of the oak.
Two I knew,
One I did not.

"Mistress Death, my muse,
So nice to see you again."
The figure nodded,
A soft smile visible under
Her hood.

"Satan, my old friend,
How long it's been since I've
Called your domain my home."
He averted his gaze,
Seemingly uncomfortable.

I turned my eyes on the third.
A lithe woman,
With such grace as I've never seen.
Her hair obsidian black,
Cheekbones sharp,
Eyes the same rolling grey
As the sifting clouds above.

When she spoke,
Her voice was clear,
Compelling,
As if anything she said was
An ultimate truth.

"I have no name as you
Would understand it
Youngling. I have walked
This world longer than any other.
I have heard tell of you.
I am glad to meet you at last.
You are an aberration.
You know why I am here.
It is your time."

Two words I spoke.
"I'm ready."

After the tides of war have receded,
And the fires of eternity are but a smolder,
The last of life has ceased,
The final man has lost his breath,
The sands of time will rise into burning skies,
And fuse into wings of glass,
Soaring along the ripples of the pulse of all creation,
Only to lose momentum,
Shatter against the bottom of the abyss,
And burn to dust,
Blown by cosmic winds
Back to the infinitesimal point
From whence it, and all else came.

It's early morning,
The clock reads 7:47 AM.
The engine purrs.

It speaks lovingly
Through the clutch.
A 4.6L V8 soul,
Just wanting to be let free.

Clutch in,
Shift into 5th.
Give it gas,
Let off the clutch.

Tearing down a dirt road,
104 Miles Per Hour,
A can of Copenhagen
Rattling on the dash.

Because it's early morning,
The clock reads 7:48 AM.
The engine purrs.

Death stopped me today,
On the sidewalk outside
Of a Dairy Queen.
She asked me if I was afraid.
I smiled and said

"Mistress Death, I am
Far from frightened. I welcome
You as a friend. I've written about
You enough that I've come
To understand the fact that you
Are alien to me."

I gestured for her to follow
And we went inside,
Sitting at a corner table
With two vanilla ice creams.
She asked of me.

"What has become of you?
You used to cherish the dark.
You herded and bred my children.
Have you given up on
The darker side of life?"

I finished my cone.

"I have not given up a thing.
I've found a purpose
And a future for myself.
I've built a life worth living.
I may no longer be your disciple,
But I still consider you a mentor.
And one of my truest friends.
When it is my name called,
I will be happy to walk into
The dark at your side.
But until that day,
I will live my life as a fire.
Burning bright,
And keeping those
in my presence
Warm."

And I departed.

I hope it isn't
Overstepping my bounds
To intrude on your conversation.
My friend,
There is always a war
Going on somewhere.
Whether soldiers clashing,
Cannons flashing,
Or fighting our personal demons.
Even the savior himself
Was betrayed by those
He sought to help.
Humanity is always trying
To destroy itself.
It may be macabre,
But it's impossible to save
Them all.
Because in every war,
There are casualties.
And there are always
Those in the crossfire.
A stray round will always fell
A civilian or two.
Take it from someone who knows.
Don't try to save the world.
Just do your best to
Make it back alive.
And know that there are others
Fighting at your side
Watching your back.
And with their final breath,
Those that fall will be saying.
"Till death, till the end.
This we'll defend."
Hooah.

He stopped me today,
A nocturnal hunter,
After exiting the crevasse
I had so eagerly
Taken refuge in only months before.
He cocked his head,
Ears twitching,
Nose searching the wind.

"You are of my kind." said he.
"And yet you are not.
I've never met one such as you.
You have fangs,
But they are hidden.
Your rage is tempered,
Yet your heart is still that of a wolf."
His eyes flashed in the dawn's
Fleeting moonlight.
"Who are you?"

For a moment,
A solemn shift took me
As I searched for the answer
To his query.

"I am The Silvertongue.
He who weaves legends,
Yet burns all he touches.
My paws are scarred,
My maw ******,
But what I do, I do for the rest.
I have sold my soul,
But heart and mind
Remain my own.
I have lived a life soaked with blood Of both friend and foe.
My scars have many sources,
I may answer indirectly,
But I never lie.
I have bred and buried shadows,
And I have both welcomed
And shunned the sunshine."

His tongue flashed across
His muzzle,
His teeth bared in
A feral grin.

Spoke the canine
"I envy your spirit
My friend.
You've tread a life
Lonely
But entrapped by
Millions of souls.
But know this.
You keep your own,
You know your spirit.
Your scars are the one thing
That they cannot take from you."

A Demon stopped me today,
On the harrowing climb from
Where I'd come to rest.
Satan made good on his deal,
I'd faced no torment,
Only quiet peace.

The Demon spoke.

"You've found a home here, you've faced no pain, why wish to leave? The life you've lived is done, the world goes round. What is it that you need?"

I cocked my head, a silver glint in my eye and replied.

"I wish no longer to sit and feel remorse. I've made mistakes of course. But I've come to terms with the things that I have done."

The Demon snarled.

"The Devil chases after you!"

And said I,

"Let him come. I'll fight tooth and nail through all the burning plains of hell. I've come to know this place, I know the fire and I know it well. If you follow I'll wield peace like a burning lance. I'm leaving this ****** place, I'm taking a second chance. Don't underestimate me, even after the reaper comes. I've got a round for each and every one of you."

And he turned to run.

I realized today passing by
And wandering through,
It has been quite a while
Since I have heard from you.

I've missed the quiet nights
Of whispering words
And killing time.

Too long it's been
Since I have poured it out
And shared my life.

Oh, how I used to write,
Of love and hate,
Of sun and rain.

Of silver tongues,
Weaving legends,
Fighting through the pain.

The pain I felt has left me,
Successfully I've staved off my rage.

Yet I have missed
Shepherding shadows,
And the sunlit ******* stage.
The one with which I bantered with,
Over the heads below.
Passing notes,
Surviving day to day,
Was the only thing I used to know.

Those I've loved and lost,
No longer I regret my past.
I've adapted and survived,
The boy has grown up fast.

And so I ask my friends,
For I surely swear
These words are true,
I'd like to hear,
Let me know.

How are you?

The Devil stopped me today,
On my way back around
The cyclic road we walk.
He folded his hands and sighed,
His eyes soft and sad.

"Mike." He began.
"I'm sorry. I have to stop you.
You've had your turn around."
He beckoned me towards him.

"You know of those you've hurt.
Of the damage that you've done."
Here his eyes seemed to harden.
"You can't make up for the mistakes that you've made."

"Even Gods have their time.
Let your tongue of silver rest."
He tilted his head.
"No punishment awaits you."

"No pain.
I know that every moment
Of existence pounds in your temples.
You wish for an end."

He taps his foot and a hole splits
The Earth.
"Come with me. You've already had your torment. I can stop the voices."

He nods to me.
"I can stop the pain."

The Devil stopped me today.
At the crossroads of time and space.
He made me a deal.
A deal I couldn't refuse.

My soul.
For the end.

The demon king
Had much to tell
Of those that had
Twisted his actions.

They had summoned
And questioned and
Bargained and laughed
But Paimon will always
Get vengeance.

Stay true to these words
To the story they tell
Keep your mischief
Separate from magic.

If you summon Paimon
Unwary to danger
His darkness will
Swallow your soul.

These things he taught me
A young mortal pup
For to me he had
Taken a liking.

So released him I did
Fair winds he bid me
And he continues to
Bring on his mayhem.

At crossroads and crypts
In ****** and theft
The demon still marks
With his hand.

Yet I walk unfearful
To attacks born of evil
For Paimon yet walks
Our land.

Sometimes a fire must burn out,
No fuel left to feed it.
So it is with many things.
When we lack what we need to survive,
Be it sustenance,
Accomplishment,
Or purpose,
Sometimes we must end,
And cease to be.
Every song must end,
Every curtain fall,
And every candle flicker,
Then raise its smoke to the heavens.

There is a reason for the end of life.
To give rise to the future.
As the seasons change,
And our elders pass,
With us we bring new art,
New music,
New ideas.
I hope one day my poetry will be my legacy.
But the end is never easy.
My Great Grandfather,
Much you taught me.
But saying goodbye to you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in front of you.
*Avus meus sapiens requiescant in pace

Well, hello there.
I won't be here long.
Just wished to greet old friends.
Figured while I was about
I could slightly lessen
My overabundance of words.
Lately they seem to trip,
Sometimes stumble over each other.
My mind still screams,
But it is subdued.
My scars are still there,
But they have faded somewhat.
I do miss you all,
Playing games of words.
Tossing similes across the way,
Almost like playing literary dodge ball.
Anywho,
I wish you all the best,
Of pain I wish you less.
~The Silvertongue~

One round
In the chamber,
Thirty in the magazine,
One moment makes a lifetime,
Two seconds taken to breath.
Three brothers at my back,
Four wolves in the hunt.
Five miles to ruck before rest,
Six hours to sleep tonight.
Seven days left for another week,
Eight civillians lost as collateral.
Nine houses cleared without incident,
The Tenth is where they're waiting.
Eleven minutes for the firefight,
Twelve rounds taken to the legs.
Thirteen minutes until Medevac arrives,
Fourteen month recovery.
Fifteen minutes left before lights out.

Mag is half full.

Sixteen hours to rest and clean weapons,
Seventeen men play cards in the barracks
Eighteen minutes left during fire guard,
Nineteen year old soldiers miss their family.
Twenty minute call home to loved ones.
Twentyone shots over a white headstone.
Twentytwo streets left to clear before dusk,
Twentythree families bustle in the bazaar.
Twentyfour hours in each day in hell.
Twentyfive men craving cigarettes.
Twentysix reports of gunfire this morning.
Twentyseven combatants killed.
Twentyeight days left in deployment.
Twentynine years old at honorable discharge,
30 family members waiting to welcome you home.
31 days in every month spent in the devil's sandbox.

Click
Mag is empty.
Drop mag
Draw new mag
Load into well
Hit bolt release
*Continue fighting

Oh the songs,
The stories,
Misappropriated words,
Misspoken information.
Choose your side,
But when your allegiance
Is based on lies,
Your very defense of your point
Is a mistruth in of itself.
So run your mouth,
But I've got
A bullet for
Every person
Who falls for your
Fearful facade.
And my trigger finger
Is definitely getting itchy.

It's painfully easy
To share a condescending veiw,
Even when more will change
With action than will with word.
Yet another lecture is what I get.
I'm fully aware I disappoint you.
You've made it widely known.
But I'm not sure I care anymore.
It's just as easy in my mind
To splatter some ink onto the page
As it is to splatter my brains on the ceiling.
I guess we'll see which hurts less.