Has your violence
taken you to places
I’ve not been

Or driven you
to things
I’ve not seen

Was your soul
mired in conflict
once raised from the dead

Were your walls
built to fortify
excuses and blame

Have your choices
been forged by
damnation and fear

Did love matter at all
when it cried
through the pain

Could you still hear its voice
on those darkest
of nights

Were those places you
conquered
in tribute now ******

Did your victims
kneel down
their heads bowed in shame

Was mercy rejected
your mistress
defiled

Has your violence
taken you to places
I’ve not been

Or driven you
to things
I’ve not seen

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2015)