What am I to do
Oh my fair skinned sister?
You are family to me
Yet I fear I may be forced
To bring the news
That I'll not be returning

I fear that if I do return
It will be on my shield
Not with it
As the Spartans used to say

Here I stand as Leonidas
Foolhardy and bold
I watch as I crumble
As my phalanx fold

So what am I to say
Oh my fair skinned sister?
How long will you mourn my absence?
Before you forget
And carry on?

What am I to think
Oh my dark haired sister?
What am I to feel?
You have been my guide

What am I to be
Oh my bright eyed comrade
My cheerful compatriot
My dearest friend?

Sing to me
Oh my fair skinned sister
Some sacred sonnet to save me
Play for me
Oh my fair skinned sister
Some long and lingering lyric
Some sweet melodic line
Some hypnotic harmony
To save me from my mind

I was not prepared for this
My position so flawed
Fatally overlooked
I was not prepared for this

My broad bravado
Now enfeebled
By harsh realization

My situation is untenable
The force against me
Is greater than  anticipated

I am called Tiberius
I have sold my foe short
I have little doubt
Of that which brings me down

I came here sure of success
I came to make war
To conquer all that is against me

Yet

My head hangs low with defeat
My spirit is weak
My morale in shambles
I am broken

My arms
Once readied for battle
Hang limp at my sides
My hands
Once armed for war
Now empty and weak
I am broken

My eyes
Once alive with passion
No longer leave the ground

The battle is lost on all fronts
I am surrounded by defeat
I watch as the line crumbles
No match
For the force brought against it
I am broken

This mortal vein
These mortal eyes
This mortal skin
These all will die
This fading light
These fading dreams
This fading hope
These hearts that scream
This burning lie
These burning fears
This burning soul

I shed no tears

All that is good
Is not always beautiful

All that is beautiful
Is not always happy

All that is happy
Is not always good

I searched beneath
The blood-splinter moon
For the man
Who knows my name
But I found him not
In the world about me

Look in

To the desperate broken corners
Of the soul

Look in

To the fears and demons caged
Or are they?

Look in

To the hidden regrets
The repressed memories
The guilty pleasures not forgotten

Look in

And when you find the man who
Sees this all
And still will know your name

There is only one

I am weary
From early morning
And night so long
I am weary

I am weary
In
Body
And
Mind
And
Soul

Won't you give me strength?