Mute Marches

Silent breeze speaks to my fears

Ridicule commuting

Disputing dark forces

In courses subdued with tears

👐🏻👐🏻👐🏻👐🏻👐🏻

Combat soldiers armed for truth

Marching for the frontline

Sunshine blurred by monsoons

Of platoons that became mute

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The structure did not survive

The foundation collapsed

Prolapsed substructure fails

On trails we burned alive

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Message found in the horror

Cognizance in a chant

Incant prayers digging out

All doubt melts in the mirror

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Building on a strong bedrock

Standing firm holding on

Gone away quenched the thirst

Vision first a building block

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Took the hand eternity

Wisdom seeks devotion

Motion swirls with yearning

Grateful burning clarity

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Note from RHC: after writing mostly Gloria stories I wanted to write something in depth and symbolic. This is what happened.

The poem is structured with a syllabic meter of 7,6,6,7. I feel that this structure creates a wave of emotion that starts out with a high intensity then dips down to a lower intensity and then resumes the higher intensity. It also creates a march-like rhythm, reinforcing the soldier imagery and giving the poem a ritualistic, chant-like quality.

I also created a braided (cross-weave) rhyme scheme. The last word in each of the first and fourth lines rhyme. The last word of the second line rhymes with the first word in the third line. The last word in the third line rhymes with the second word in the fourth line.

The syllabic discipline (7-6-6-7) and braided rhyme scheme give the poem a hidden architecture, mirroring the theme of collapse and rebuilding.

This poem aligns with Modernist and Symbolist traditions with a contemporary edge. Based on Spiritual warfare and ultimate triumph over darkness.

👐🏻👐🏻👐🏻👐🏻👐🏻

RHC ❤️