men of endurance
will often take the back seat -
they’re driven by poise.

I return a hero,
but the victory
is buried in my skin—
cold sweat,
thick as blood,
as a grave.

3:47 AM,
The door creaks open,
the old hinges groaning—
boots pounding closer,
each step like a drumbeat,
bringing a cold shiver
that claws down my spine.

Then—
silence.

A scream cuts the night,
the daughter,
the mother,
they want me—
drag me back
to that blood-soaked hell,
where nothing survives,
where life is torn apart.

Warplanes split the sky,
tanks rumble in my chest—
the taste of rust,
the heat of gunfire,
the smell of flesh burning,
of metal tearing through bone.

l open my eyes,
and I'm surrounded—
the bodies of my brothers,
their faces smashed into the earth,
eyes wide,
mouths frozen in screams.
The stench is choking,
the blood thick,
pooling like a dark sea around us.

The Nazis—
they don't stop—
shooting the fallen
to make sure no one rises.
I feel the shot in my gut,
but I'm still here—
I wait my turn.

I close my eyes.

And then—
l open them.
Still here.
4:01 AM.
I survived.
Barely.

The Dragon year, a vibrant hue,
Now fades, a memory, bittersweet and true.
Solitude's embrace, a winter's chill,
Gave way to warmth, a love that time can't ****.

The Rabbit year, a sorrow's bitter sting,
Left scars unseen, a wounded spirit's wing.
The Dragon's dawn, a fragile, timid bloom,
Seeking solace in life's quiet room.

But destiny, with gentle, guiding hand,
Revealed a soul, a kindred understand.
Beyond the surface, deep within her core,
The anguish seen, and wounds forevermore.

A solace offered, unexpected grace,
Two souls entwined in a warm embrace.
The spark ignited, a love beyond compare,
Mending the broken, easing every care.

Now hand in hand, they journey to the Snake,
A new beginning, for love's sweet sake.
Heart to heart, a balance they will find,
Forever bound, in love's embrace entwined.

While passing by a great Gothic church,
I see sullen skies begin to glower:
a looming wicked curse
above the church corona’s tower.

With bruised blue clouds brewing black
in the bellowing wide heavens,
hearts pounding, all shrink slowly back:
Blazing bolts scream and threaten.

Here comes the gale force shrieking wraith!
Take shelter from the storm
in the stout fortresses of your faiths
built with those who keep you warm.

For though some tempests last
over rocky spans of fears,
all the maelstrom’s wrath must pass,
even if it lasts for years.

In these sturdy stones you’ve laid,
rebuild for the coming of new days.

Take my blood, take my sweat, take my tears,
I will still be pushing through these fears.