To Conquer

conquerors of the cowardly and courageous

they strode to power

and what could we do?

every knee bowed

every man, every woman, every child

every Jew and every Gentile

the willing and the unwilling

succumbed

to their rule

conquerors of the hearts and souls of a nation

they lit our dreams with flames of fire
until they ran rampant and untamed

they fed like starved animals on the darkness
of the most depraved corners

of worlds henceforth unknown

they thrived on our fears and insecurities

until we were left with nothing

but shame

but what could we do?

"something, anything to stand and fight!"
cries something within me

something stronger, braver than I am

something that craves justice

and light

I can try to hide behind the polite inhibitions

of a society that quietly boards innocent bystanders
on trains destined for hell

I can try to clothe myself

in the bright and fashionable cloak

of a festive religion of good deeds

to conceal the atrocities just beneath the surface

but I refuse

let me die

crucify me as you must

then bury me deep in the dark fragrant ground like a seed

that truth would live in the end

conquerors

they call them

but it is a lie

I know in every fiber of my earthen frame

that truth will conquer in the end

I cry out in agony

but no longer despair

as wounds from foe

and friend

bleed freely

until every page of this story is stained red with love

and after I have bled my body's last drop of blood

let the snows of winter cover me

let the white of winter's harshest wrath fall upon my grave

let the seasons take their course

that spring might come once more

that this conviction

that pierces and consumes every weakness

would not remain dormant within me

but would burst forth one day beneath a broad and blank sky

in infant green growth

would spread its branches wide

as a mother would open her arms

to welcome her children home to her embrace

that it would conquer

"But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see Him for myself. Yes, I will see Him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!"