Disclaimer: B5 is not mine. I merely borrow.
This is written from the perspective of a "common" soldier.
Shades of War: "Pax Babylonium" (01/01)
by Jen McElroy
here, take my heart . . . .
one starless night
they said he returned from
z'ha'dum
hell
the dead
his lover wept
no one saw
but they say she did
they said she prayed
a vengence at the
flame
for his return
that tears washed her
until she was a
clean bone
hollow--
souled
bodied
--starved
as she prayed
that she lead a revolution
in his name
but not ours
. . . . go on and eat it
you need the meat . . . .
one starless night
they said the two
carried a torch
chased the shadows away
ended this war
gave us back the galaxy
and they were heroes
but what about us?
one starless night
my brother died
as he dove into a shadow
and sent it careening away
that same night
eve sacrificed herself
on the pyre of vorlons
burning her mind
to find them all
and hide from the rest
one starless night
i wept
for my friends
crushed flowers
i wept for my enemies
who i kill
who had once been friends
that starless night is
eternal
in my heart
. . . . take it . . . .
pax babylonium
peace--
a thousand years forever
on babylon
and i
water the gardens
with my tears
i can sacrifice
but even i have only so much to give
here, take my heart . . . .
written 1997
Author's note: (okay who am I kidding, this is a *shameless plug*! Please read "darkness to light" in the originals section, it's kind of a response to this poem. Hehe)
This is written from the perspective of a "common" soldier.
Shades of War: "Pax Babylonium" (01/01)
by Jen McElroy
here, take my heart . . . .
one starless night
they said he returned from
z'ha'dum
hell
the dead
his lover wept
no one saw
but they say she did
they said she prayed
a vengence at the
flame
for his return
that tears washed her
until she was a
clean bone
hollow--
souled
bodied
--starved
as she prayed
that she lead a revolution
in his name
but not ours
. . . . go on and eat it
you need the meat . . . .
one starless night
they said the two
carried a torch
chased the shadows away
ended this war
gave us back the galaxy
and they were heroes
but what about us?
one starless night
my brother died
as he dove into a shadow
and sent it careening away
that same night
eve sacrificed herself
on the pyre of vorlons
burning her mind
to find them all
and hide from the rest
one starless night
i wept
for my friends
crushed flowers
i wept for my enemies
who i kill
who had once been friends
that starless night is
eternal
in my heart
. . . . take it . . . .
pax babylonium
peace--
a thousand years forever
on babylon
and i
water the gardens
with my tears
i can sacrifice
but even i have only so much to give
here, take my heart . . . .
written 1997
Author's note: (okay who am I kidding, this is a *shameless plug*! Please read "darkness to light" in the originals section, it's kind of a response to this poem. Hehe)