. for public domain
(alluding to the last scene from the film, Full Metal Jacket)
Full Metal
The sky is bad outside,
and there's no place to run,
or hide myself inside.
I stand firm, unfearful,
a steady sword in hand,
poorly matched against foes.
No tear shall run my cheek.
No stay of mercy call
I, nor God's Justice seek.
For I am full alive,
one fist against a storm,
and I am not afraid.
One cross
Left side
Silent bore the shame of cursed
Guilt, with scant remorse and no
Small scoff
Unfearful of
Dying breath.
Middle rood
Central one
Focus of the centuries distant yon
Condemned to die for all, Godson
Giving weak
Lost souls
Eternal life.
One cross
Right side
Afraid to pay earned shameful debt
Seeks absolution for crimes of theft
Pleads now
For saving
Unmerited grace.
Written January 2, 2021
For Joseph May's Trinet Contest
The outburst of a star
Has travelled very far
To show its splendid flame
On high.
In passing, when it came,
Its glow was all the same
As when it longed to die
Astray.
It wilted with a sigh,
Unfearful to defy
The biddings of its day
Or sleep.
There is no better way
To dwindle and decay
Than, like a star, to weep
Away.
Find my poems and published poetry volumes at www.eton-langford.com
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