Freeman

For now they stood in peace,

A million warriors, the soldiers of a condemned race,

They stood in confrontation to one - in the greatest battle

And before that to the greatest chase

to annihilate the last freeman and his despicable rattle.

They were wise men once, driven over the edge –

Pushed through the wall of insanity

Which, as it flexed

Left the most virtuous in that dire vanity -

 Men of steel, melted and resurrected - eternally convexed.

This was no war of blood and fire,

And yet be fought on conventional terms

As both beheld their weapons and armored;

They – with balls and chains and raged tantrums;

He – with his bare feet and his prudence garnered;

They had fought and lost against every freeman,

Millions against one, and yet lost against each

As they pushed each into a corner, they were

Blinded by ethereal gleam; deafened by vociferous screech

As each found his wings and flew northwards!

Wouldn’t they be furious now?

Behind songs of valor and insurgency ,

In that late summer afternoon,

As I, the last freeman rode my dreams of redundancy

Swore to live free of war, or else to swoon!

‘twas hard for them to tug me to this ground

Despite their hordes of ghosts;

Hard, indeed, for such gravity to hold me down.

Yet it was harder for me to surrender on such ruthless coasts

Harder indeed for me in infinity to stay around.

They fail to understand - to grasp onto this singularity

That to be bound is to be free of freedom,

And I’m condemned to a crime – addicted to a thought,

Conditioned to this paradox - existent in abandon -

That by nature – freedom from freedom is much sought

They fail, and yet hail victoriously as war is waged

 - Wise men who once knew that it is essential

To not just live, but to know life

As a mistress of autumn, to consume its soul –

Hail upon me - and my freedom – my precious strife.

I watch the battlefield crumble;

And it seems almost beautiful – the view,

And the sound of carnage –almost amusing;

When it happens – that what I always knew

But never quite believed – so confusing!

The wings find me, and I’m airborne;

To my unfailing choice as freedom’s vice

For once and at last it chooses to rhyme

As every curse would save the cursed, I realize

That I belonged to freedom; freedom was never mine!