Blood

XIII

I

Among cold, stone-laid streets

Revolutionaries marched to the Palace

The man named Tsar nowhere in sight.

II

I was of two minds,

Like a cellar of liars

In which there died two Tsars.

III

Nicholas marched into the horrendous war.

It was only a piece of a small façade.

IV

A country and its people

Are one.

A country and its people and a ruler

Are one.

V

I am unsure of which is better

The beauty of dear Alexandra

Or my duty to the citizens,

My son playing in the open,

Or in safety.

VI

Cold air filled the small room

With rotting wood.

The footsteps of men

Paced it, back and forth.

The mood

Made obvious in armed men

A creed of no obvious cause.

VII

Rich men of Russia,

Why do you imagine better days?

Do you turn a blind eye

To the days at hand

Marching and saluting your soldiers.

VIII

I understand regal accents

And noble obligations

But I know, too,

That the Tsar is one of promises

But not of keeping them

IX

Before nobility danced

A thousand people trampled

Foretelling events to come.

X

At the sight of blood

Even the small bruises

Would cause the shrieks

Sharply crying out.

XI

Riding over the hills

His loyal steed beneath him

Once, doubt took him

Causing a mistake

Silhouettes of dead men

Only to be soldiers.

XII

The soldiers are marching

A war must have been declared.

XIII

It wasn't cold

The weather meant to be nice

Early in the morning

His body lay

Inside a cellar.