Breath

Remember

The battle ended, but she would not remember.

Both sides dragging their hopes and dreams behind;

tired and worn; tired and worn

Armor sprouting at all corners of the battlefield, but she would not remember

The blood of the soldiers dripping from their mangled bodies

Drip, drop, drip, the blood trickling out of their bodies.

A red river forms from those slowly awaiting their deaths.

But not a single sword rose.

The weapons lay on the battle field, holstered in the armory

The long fight finally ceased 

Though their hearts beat louder within their ears,

Fear grew little louder, but they marched forward

With every collision of a sword,

Steady like the beat of a drum,

Though they did not give up until the end.

But try as they did,

The army was defeated.

The enemy had won.

Though the commander could not remember

The army that she helped to build.

The army of hundreds

The sea of people

Against the enemy of one.

The enemy that grew stronger

With each and every day as bright as the sun,

With each and every night as dark as the deepest depths of the ocean,

With each and every short passing moment of time.

The enemy that took from her all that she loved,

All that she cherished,

All that she did,

All that she experienced,

All that she held dear to her heart,

From a sacred hiding place

Guarded with a lock that had no key.

Inside her mind.

She died alone,

Though her soldiers were by her side.

It did not matter.

She couldn’t recognize them,

She couldn’t recognize herself.

The commander may not remember, but her army will never forget. 

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Author's Note: I know I've posted this before in something else. But this is a poem, so I felt that it should be in my poetry compilation.