They are dug in deep,
withstanding barrage after barrage
for days.
The savages.
We wrested them
from their strongholds
and chased them
from their palaces,
but they relent not one inch
without a fight.
They shed the blood of millions
with a wanton disregard.
They forced our hand,
by their crimes
they birthed the revolution.
For we sacrificed safety
and sanctity
and high moral virtue
to join them in their bloodletting.
He who stops bleeding first
dies.
We were all High-Hill Dwellers.
We had long views,
so easily weighted eyes,
to look down on the world.
These anointed ones,
they were just men and women,
but we imbued them
with power
and Blessed them
with the Sword and the Balances.
Faithfully they would mete out justice
in the name of the people.
Naive?
Sure we were.
They were only human.
and the fault in this war
lies as much with our faith
as with their betrayal.
I whispered words of comfort
to my children,
as the state police went door to door,
seeking the new “Terrorists”,
people whose only crime
was saying “No”.
So quickly power alters the mind.
How perfectly its corruption
winnows out the decent.
Those whose bellies hunger
only for power and influence,
once marched in lockstep
with some righteous crusade.
The initiates remember their books,
the recognize the signs.
They remember seeing the pulpit turn
and the markets empty.
They have watched the populace get thin,
while the Judges get fat
and the High-Hills
become a breeding ground
for monsters.
High times for the predators,
when the fence is down
and the dogs have all been starved;
even they might take a chicken.
Even the Faithful lose heart
and are corrupted.
Just doing what they need to,
to survive.
The days
will certainly be frightening,
but for those
whose sport is hunting monsters;
we’ll hit them hard again.
They’re dug in on the hill,
but we can take them.
The savages will know justice;
God wills it.
The time comes soon,
we muster for the charge.
All hell breaks loose
and history is made.
We have played our parts
in the game of Blood and Power;
what a satisfying trade.
This is how the world is saved;
not on the hill,
but on the battlefield.
HG – 2017
