They Waited

Intentions lain, they waited,

Expressions plain, they waited,

Though deemed insane, they waited,

Though seemed it vain, they waited.

Lo! Amidst that verdant valley,

As silence grew around their tally,

With crests that graced and braced their rally,

In pouring rain, they waited.

 

From land to sky, they stared,

With heads held high, they stared,

Though no birds fly, they stared,

Though none pass by, they stared.

Without the cause to reason out,

Without the cause to raise a doubt,

With but the cause to be devout-

Sworn to comply, they stared.

 

In muddy cakes, they stood,

Like sturdy stakes, they stood,

Though each with aches, they stood,

Though for their sakes, they stood.

For lo! Beyond them saw they all

Substantial numbers thunder tall

Toward them with a mighty call.

Though came these quakes, they stood.

 

Score after score, they fell,

Their aches more sore, they fell,

Amidst the roar, they fell.

Amidst the gore, they fell,

And as the moon brought forth the night,

And as the sun brought back the light,

Without retreat, without respite,

With many more, they fell.

 

Upon the grass, they lay,

In heaps of mass, they lay,

In smoky gas, they lay,

'Twixt steel and brass, they lay.

And as the silence roamed once more,

The rain continued on to pour,

Submerging all the crests they bore.

Whilst time did pass, they lay.

 

What was pristine, now tainted,

A pretty scene, now tainted,

What was serene, now tainted,

Fit for a queen, now tainted.

O! Would this misfortune mend

To carry on its lovely trend,

Or is this now the bitter end?

What once was green, now tainted.

-EDP

Reviews

[McEltic]

This piece pretty much sums it up. Killing and death without end. Like the verses marching to war, one after another the ones who take notice of the loss in life are the ones next up, expected to give their all

[emipoemi]

I like this review.....really gives the poem some spice. Thank you! Glad you enjoye it.

[emily.c.]

beautiful rhyme and rhythm, flows slowly and consistent. loved reading this.

[emipoemi]

Glad you did. Thanks for reading.

[Inkh(e)art]

I really love many of your poems but this one stands out to me. Thank you so much for posting this.

[emipoemi]

thank you so much for reading. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Carol Cashes]

This was a quite the ballad. That you could use the same word consistently at the end of each line and still make that line relevant - brilliant. Thanks for a wonderful read this morning.

[emipoemi]

Thanks for reading :)

[Dr. YumnaKay]

I like the flow with which this comes off while reading.
About the subject matter, I'd say only time will tell if there is going to be a bitter end...
Interesting write.

[emipoemi]

Thanks for reading.

[Dr. YumnaKay]

You're welcome :)

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

The drumbeats of war always bring to the fore the bravest among us. Their courage is plucked like a string and then buried in the ground. The cadence of your wording throughout the poem reminds me of those drumbeats.

While those in power always try to attribute some sense to war and while the people are often convinced of the need for war, the end result of it all is senselessness. There is waste on so many fronts, the most being human life.

There is no honor in dying for those who would never die for you. There is no honor in the slaughter of innocents by those who would hide behind those innocents, beating those drums of war, but too cowardly to die themselves for the cause they tout so much.

[emipoemi]

Nice review! I so enjoyed reading this! Thank you for reading!

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

My pleasure.