and this once more he said to the dying and the dead
“there’ll never be a sanctuary here”
and the rest of us in tears, dark drowning in our fears
looked to those behind to provide cheer

there were curses in those days flying round the maze
wherein we faced the vagaries of time
and as the matter stood we were doing all we could
though not a one of us was in his prime

precious blood we shed as we followed fortune’s thread
through the darkest corridors of doubt
but sometimes so they say the weak will win the day
and we came upon our quarry with a shout

with battle colours high we swore we’d win or die
and chased the cursèd monster to it’s lair
while those around us died we held on to our pride
and took our bloody vengeance on it there

though vengeance may be sweet in the battle’s heat
it never once could cure an ailing soul
and caught beneath the weight of a cold uncaring fate
we mourned the ones who never reached our goal

*Yet Another Mock Heroic Ballad

i’m a genuine survivor of the life i’ve had to live
the hills i’ve had to climb i’m climbing still
it doesn’t matter how high the ground before me is
mere gradient will never conquer will

i could wish that life were easy or easier at least
but wishing never changed the way things are
so i’ll take what i am given as it comes along
after years of battle what is one more scar

some day i’ll reach a haven, a perfect place to rest
then i’ll turn my back on this unforgiving road
but until that day arrives i will never choose to stop
for i have the strength to manage yet my load