War

• Ainsley Tran, Grade 7, Murrumba State Secondary College
• Poetry
• 2015

Excellence Award in the 'Beyond Words 2015' competition

I feed on greed, ambition and jealousy,
Mistrust, injustice, hatred and cruelty,
As tension builds I grow and rise,
'Till my spirit echoes with battle cries.
My voice is the harmony of screams and squeals,
The spray of bullets, the clash of steels,
In bloody makeup I look truly grand,
With a necklace of soldiers who made their final stand.
My perfume reeks of sweat and blood,
Of rotten flesh and smoke and mud,
My presence is always joined by death,
Devouring each warriors' life and breath.
Those who make me beg me to cease,
But to kill me you must surrender down on your knees,
Or develop a truce, an understanding,
Or I'll continue 'till only one side's standing.