An Iron Rose

It moves as one across the red sands

Its heart—a drum—o'er broken lands

Hammering life from rock and heather

A metal beast of pike and leather

It glistens and moans in the dawn light

The skulls of wolves baying for a fight

Sigiled talons snatched by morning breeze

One final foe left, to bend the knees

The white keep stands firm, poised for the fray

But like a pincer, ensnaring its prey

The beast looms up, curling its wings

A white sword, in a garden of sins

The host unfolds like an iron rose

Thorns gleaming to the chanting of crows

It locks its horns against chiselled plate

Twisting and lashing the armoured gate

The white keep growls back, spraying the night

Piercing the beast; its wrath alight

A thousand shards of defiance

That could not split that dark alliance

For the beast did break that lone white sword

Stars waned as a moat of blood was poured

And many who once drew breath were dead

As the sands grew a darker shade of red