OF LOVE AND WAR…

I

I was walking through the battlefield.

The war had come to an end.

Our side was triumphant, their’s defeated.

But as I looked at the horrific sight,

I thought to myself,

Was there really any winner?

Bodies strewn all over,

faces crushed.

Limbs separated,

women and children weeping,

over unrecognizable masses that once belonged to someone they loved.

Predators as hungry as ever,

feeding upon the remains of a once heroic warrior.

The battlefield had turned into a stream.

A stream of blood,

a stream of pain,

a stream of misery,

a stream of never-ending darkness.

Was there any victor in all of this?

Is this what is called triumph?

II

Sick of this world,

I lost all desire to live,

as I made my way through the agonizing mess,

out of the battleground.

I walked into the forest that led off it.

I knew not where I was going,

nevertheless I pushed myself along.

My head was spinning,

my heart was aching,

my limbs numb,

drops of blood trickling through the corner of my eye.

My entire body was burning,

it felt like I was walking through fire.

I was a broken man.

III

I looked at the heavens,

where many claim,

there is eternal hope and everlasting joy,

I wished I could fly.

IV

It was dusk.

Soon the sun would fade into the horizon.

And darkness would take over the world,

just like it had eloped my life.

I seemed to have lost my voice.

My mouth was dry,

almost begging for a saving drop.

My knees were giving in,

I could carry myself no longer.

But hope came knocking at my door,

like a saving grace.

V

I saw a cottage in the distance dimly lit.

And in my dismay, the spot-sized light looked like a star.

It seemed to take forever.

But, I pulled myself with all my strength,

before finally reaching the door.

The door was ajar.

I cared not to knock.

I walked in and collapsed.

VI

I opened my eyes,

and I could vaguely see,

a shadow moving across the hall towards me.

As the figure approached closer,

what I then saw was beyond what words can say.

She was dressed in fiery red,

her face had a deep radiance.

Her eyes had a depth of calm,

her hair flowing almost majestically.

She sat herself beside me,

dipping a piece of cotton into something that looked like herb.

She wiped my wounds and softly blew at them.

And as I looked at her,

she gave me a breath of life.

VII

Suddenly, our gazes met.

She looked at me and smiled,

and I could sense mischief twinkling in her eyes.

All I had asked her for was my life,

but she gave me something more than that.

Something more precious than life,

something that would make this life worth living.

I looked back at her and smiled.

And in that one moment,

there was love.