Blood of Kings

By Peter J Marcroft
The edge, black and formless,
Into its grasp I fall,
The drop below, bottomless,
Unable to resist death’s call

Life is cruel and full of gore,
Who cares if I live or die?
This strife, I shall bear no more,
I shall not live this lie.

Are we not small men?
Tiny and worth nothing,
Replaceable, they can start again,
They can continue to perpetuate suffering.

Betrayal, it is our kinds goal,
Love and peace are alien to them,
Their hearts as black as coal,
While their minds are full of venom

I refuse to be a part of this,
So to those I love I say goodbye,
I have struggled against Tyranny’s abyss,
But it is not enough, and now I must die

To be a king is to be immortal,
You must rule high, above those below,
Wage war and death, possess no moral,
No deviation, the code you must follow

We call ourselves giants,
Creatures of immense power,
Yet we are as small as ants,
For we allow destruction to flower

I did not want this, I wanted more,
I wanted to rule not dictate,
I cannot wait to see my own gore,
Save your breath it is too late

My mind is made up, I shall leave this life I led,
Another heartless pawn can have the throne,
Towards peace I shall tread,
I don’t care if I walk alone

Yes I betrayed you and hate me if you must,
As I hate you too so no love is lost,
Cloud your mind with greedy lust,
Maybe one day you’ll understand the cost

So now I pick up the knife,
Silver and wood, fire and blood,
A small cut shall end my life,
Then I shall join, the spirits flood

Towards paradise I shall walk,
Then I shall stand before the judge,
Of my desires, for peace and love, I shall talk,
Then through the gates of heaven I’ll trudge.

Maybe it won’t happen,
He could deem me a cowardly liar,
Thrust me out, towards the land barren,
And further down into hell’s fire

What will be is what will come,
I have made my own judgement,
The decision of them I shall become,
Safe, that I have relieved my own torment.

So now I reach the last line,
How much hate do you bear me?
My morality I cannot decline,
I can see your face, full of glee

I had the images, of power and gold,
I dreamt of power and worship too,
I, however, realised that soon grows old,
And that, it binds like glue

I had the courage to leave it behind,
I care not for what follows,
The knife blade, I sharpen and grind,
Then plunge it home, to take the path I chose

Now my life is over,
And I see the fruits beyond,
I walk and peer over my shoulder,
To realise of life I am not fond

I rule here now, part of the mighty haven,
Unbound to rules that tear the soul,
I am respected like the thirsty raven,
The burden of my past is a heavy toll

I walk through the valley, head held high,
The judge begins his trial,
I stand in the court of a blooded sky,
Of sins past I shall be in denial

The lives of ancestors for them I am blamed,
A vision of their true cowardice,
Even though the will to kill I tamed,
I am still accused of being full of malice

He bars the gates, tells me to return,
Warns me, live life for those you love,
Or else unto Hades for you to eternally burn,
Shamed, I retreat, on the white wings of a dove

My eyes shoot open and I stare at the nurse,
I see her smile and relief swamps me,
Tells me I almost suffered death’s curse,
My life my own I am full of glee

I walk onto the ramparts of my kingdom,
I see the eternal beauty I had ignored,
How close I had come to the pyre of martyrdom,
Makes me realise, traditions can be ignored

I turn to my army who are ready to fight and kill,
Their armour glistens like stars in the night,
I tell them no blood shall we spill,
They defy me and accuse me of fright

Rumours of traitors flood the castle,
Of murderous men who hid in the shadows,
They claim to be right like the ancient apostle,
Their words are voices of my inner sorrows

How I could be so selfish?
I put myself above my people,
I thought it wrong and that my life should finish,
And now my kingdom will not be peaceful

I stand alone inside the public square,
With my voice all movements cease,
I savour the moment, let their eyes stare,
Then I begin my foolish talk of peace

Surprise is what they feel, was this their king?
An angry storm whips into life,
They shout out, for traitor’s blood demanding,
A perpetuation of earlier strife

I flee the mass and head for home,
Angrily I curse my inner self,
You are a king, not a disposable tome,
I listen and weep to myself

I wanted to turn the tide and bring peace to here,
Yet all I have done is raise the hate stakes,
Now they all want flesh, of neighbors to sear,
All in the name of my stupid mistakes

Now I feel worse, my suffering to suicidal,
Once again I reach for the knife,
My return has raised the dormant needs, primal,
Now I am truly worthless, let me end my life

But what of the aftermath?
Can I bear the pain of the souls I’ve damned,
My suicide murder will create a blooded wrath,
Then I too shall truly be damned

I dream a nightmare,
My tortured soul ruptures and burns,
I feel the heat while awake, the rising flare,
This suicidal notion causes more twists and turns

I am damned both ways,
If I die then a war shall come,
But if I live and face the dark days,
Another nation of war we shall become

I, the almighty high king,
Unable to control my own kind,
As delicate as a highland spring,
Obsessed by peace I have become blind

My queen turns to ice,
Our love freezing over,
I cannot lose her I won’t pay that price,
I will not be lonely, like the wandering rover

From the sky a black ball descends,
The great metal weapon smashes the walls,
I scream in horror as a soldier’s life ends,
Burdened by pity I ignored the scouts calls

I blow into the bugle, the call to battle,
The gates tear open and out crash my force,
Into the fray they charge, like enraged cattle,
I wince as I watch the encroaching curse

I cry on the walls no hope for peace,
Instead there is blood on our hands,
Why do we do this, is there no release?
There is only death to the foreign lands

We stand victorious, the men shouting wild,
They believe themselves heroes,
How can they understand how much they are defiled?
How do they know they killed their foes?

I hate this fate, a trick of my blood,
My father was a tyrant and thus I am the same,
I am not allowed, to serve the common good,
As that will bring the family shame

So onto my horse I climb,
Ready to charge to the lands beyond,
I’ll sack their cities and weep in time,
Or maybe I won’t? Maybe of this I shall be fond?

I curse myself, how could I think this?
This is no way to lead a nation,
I swirl again, my mind falling unto the abyss,
And I curse the ideas I had, that were above my station

We charge the walls and smash the guards,
Our swords and arrows claiming lives,
Men die, their bodies merely shards,
We care not if these men had wives

I push the thought from me,
That is the problem of the woman,
I do not care for her misery,
I am a king and must act the nobleman

So now I rule two lands,
My treasury bulges with crimson gold,
The army salute, the man with stained hands,
And my legend grows, forever retold.

Now I reach the end of my tale,
I understand your hatred as you sit on the cloud,
This is the man who believed peace would prevail,
But instead, my history I had to make proud

I sit here in the heaven,
Wondering how the god let me pass,
After I killed so many of my brethren,
And was damned when I came last

I kill only myself and am threatened to hell,
Yet I kill a nation and am offered paradise,
Maybe I am deceived and this all an insane fable?
After all, the blood of kings, is a high price

But wander back from here traveller,
It is not your time to walk inside,
Just remember you are the throne dweller,
And that the rules are what you decide

The hall of kings awaits you once your time comes,
But until that time stay true to yourself,
Walk high at the last and scribe great tomes,
Then come drink with us on the heroes shelf

The fables are eternal,
They stand longer than all things,
For that is the blessing of the noble,
And the true value of the blood of kings…