Outlaw

In ancient times they would have called this The Year of Our Lord

But no one measures time anymore

And belief in God has long since fallen beyond memory

The time of war has come

and we are but ants beneath the tide

Soldiers come

Into our homes, into our hearts

They take our children, they take our wives

They take our husbands, they take our lives

And lucky are those who are the ones to die

Nowhere is safe,

Nowhere is hope

Civilisation is a long forgotten dream

How did it come to this?

When did the world go mad?

No one knows how it started or when

No one knows which country fell first

But in all countries, on every continent

The people are suffering

Our leaders

chosen by us, from us, for us, 

Are answerable to no one and nothing

Not even the secret smile of history

For history is written by the powerful and the victorious

The world has fallen to the sins of Man

For Man craves power

And the more power taken by the powerful

The more power they crave

It is long since the people had any power

The screams of women and children fill the night

Like the wind howling outside my window

I stand in the shadows, hunted by demons that walk in the light of day

Haunted by the darkness that has befallen my world

The terror that has gripped my people

The injustice

My thoughts turn as dark as the blackness of my surroundings

As I reflect on what the world has made of me

The enemy say I am a killer

and they are right

For I have killed many

And I will kill many more

My name is known throughout the world

Some call me legend, others myth

The enemy uses an oft' neglected word

Outlaw

It is a name given to criminals

But was a name often given to the heroes of the past

My people call me hero

I do not desire any of these names

I only desire the peace enjoyed by my ancestors

My ancestors

In the town of my birth and heritage

The authority of law became the harbinger of death

They butchered many, my family amongst them

But they did not get me

Gripped by rage for my fallen kin

And with a small group of allies and friends

I took righteous revenge upon those who had broken us

Who had so sorely abused their position

I etched a message in blood for all the world to see

No more

No more will we fall victim to the whim of the powerful and corrupt

No more will we be crushed beneath the boot of persecution

No more should we fear death

For what is death in battle when measured against a life of slavery and torture

Now we stand upon the edge of tomorrow

The sun is starting to rise from the ash of yesterday

I do not know what is to come

But I face it with blood on my hands and with hope in my heart

They all give me names

Some call me Legend, Hero, Myth

Some call me Killer, Enemy,

Outlaw

I wonder what name history will give me

Copyright © John B O'Halloran 2011