Court

Care where you step

For the court is where

Every man is for himself

And lies while he swears

 

Respect a mask cracked and crumbling

Courtesy a mere bow or two

 

Orders excuses for the killing

Obedience a see-through facade

 

Love ink on paper, sanded and framed

Marriage a union with extended clauses

 

Family another pawn on the board

Friends allies with expiry dates

 

Normality a cause long abandoned

Sanity minced and fed to dogs

 

Favours debts with hidden deadlines

Help a contract you must not sign

 

Innocence a lost child with no mother

Conscience the little brother best left at home

 

Gold any man's royal crown

Power a child's sugar and sweets

 

Oaths hollow pots only for display

Promises glass to be shattered

 

Treachery a double-edged knife

Cunning the sword one must wield

 

Benevolence a forgotten saviour

Kindness a needle lost in a haystack

 

Faith a relic of the distant past

Sincerity from an age long no more

 

Truth no more than believable lies

And lies truth hidden behind curtains

 

Where every man is a piece on the board

Furiously guarding their hard-earned hoard

Stepping over the fallen

The true King advances

A lingering shadow behind the doll

Forth comes the enemy

Checkmate

One move and victory