Gods walk among the mortals this day
Ares, our lord, broke his chains
The spirit of war marches against us
But he trained his children well
His sons too walk the fields
My brothers and I hear their whispers
And their promises are true, but alas
We have spoken at length before

Thanos and Hermes are about
I expect to meet their master soon
Nix has taken early claim today
Have we angered the Twins?
Perhaps, and so I pray
The crippled god takes pity and hold us
At least ‘till now his works have held
Their clash sounds Eris’ laughter

Black clouds and savage tides break
Upon walls and stakes of bronze
Sick and stagnant the flesh lies
(The carrion birds do not like the shade)
Watered by barbarian’s red ichor
But we too bleed – I swear it flows gold!
Brother after brother kneels, cloaks re-dyed
And we step forth, walls remade again

Soon my shield will be used to patch
And then – How should Minos judge?
What warrior could take Elysium?
No, I have spilt too much blood
Asphodel? An eternity in the dark…
It could well be the Pit, behind bronze walls
An irony of fate, and perhaps appropriate
In truth, I yearn for the Lethe…

A break in the wall, a brother fallen
I offer forth my spear, then patch it
Around me, iron faces, beyond pain
Beyond fear, our backs to our families
Bearing the scars of our devotion
They did not break us, but forged us
So come, bring Hell’s fires
A good death is its own reward