Strike words like bells
in blacksmith's forge,
each chime a shuddering hour
that fades;
hours of iron,
once strong and brave,
on warhorse hooves;
their muffled thud through damp, loam woods -
a sound that’s lost in russet ooze
as soldiers seek oblivion.
At length, a few return
on metalled roads;
their ears still ring
with words and deeds
that will be told, and tolled
in mournful carillon,
each widowed word wrung out in grief,
then spread across the world.
|