Learning to Breathe

SUMMER RAINS I. The cruel heat of summer months Char the earth As it heats up, Burning Degree by degree. The air with gasses pollute The lungs, the heart, The inner soul. Dryness and death And cremation. Bodies burnt within seconds Of their long drawn birth. Summer prevails Year long, life long With no relief. Barren is the land, Seething in angst. The hope of Resurrection, Closer yet distant. Release is but a myth - Another legend from the Fancy of Man. II. But then welcomes man A cool breeze from the West, Bringing news of rain and shower And the fragrance of birth and love And the touch of green robes Brushing the skin. The lush spirits of the leaves Breathe life, Leaping from the boughs That once held them back. The sky is covered in a misty blue. Water kisses the land below Quenching its thirst, Soaking the very roots That once lost faith. No soul gasps - But each breathes in the air St

FOR KING AND COUNTRY An august procession of the kingdom's riches, Elephants, camels, cows and dogs Marching in a strict order of ambling lines To the right of the barracks, Or to the far left of the the nurse's tent, Or right in the middle of the battlefield - Where the two armies meet, Dressed in full armour, With helm and horn, White gauntlets charmed against The Witch's Sun, Robes to cover every inch of skin from his poison And a visor to screen the soulful eyes From the wretched workings of the enemy. Flags and banners fly proudly high, Horns blow wildly and raise furore (And so do the bells of the bulls As they march by.) But spirits rise higher still! Bold knights willing to breach their lines, Break free from regiments and rush To a martyr's noble, honored fate. And some of sturdier metal Stand their ground and await The King's orders (For perhaps a khaki clad ambush Lies in wait ahead.) Had this fores