Monthly Archives: April 2015

April 27, 2015

The Blacksmith

	The Blacksmith
601	A humble blacksmith lived down south.
	His forge was too his home.
	He was a serf to heat and steel,
	so proved his ashened clothes.
605	The days of hamm’ring steel passed by.
	His thoughts at times distract,
	and though he forged with diligence,
	his mind shifts to his craft.
	He’s dedicated years to arms
610	that only hurt and kill,
	but justice also flows from swords
	to those men rife with guilt.
	And smiths have armor to produce
	which shield those gallant knights,
615	but armor saves some cruel bad men
	who spread distrust and fright.
	So is the blacksmith good or bad?
	And is he wanting fault?
	Are vendors too responsible
620	for deeds of he who bought?
	One day a famous rebel man
	came riding on his horse.
	He galloped to the blacksmith’s house
	and dictated with force:
625	“Make me a thousand breastplates, sir.
	Meld twice as many swords.
	Make spears and arrowheads abound.
	I’m stocking up for war!”
	Smith stared upon that rebel man
630	unable to believe.
	An order such as this would make
	him wealthy like the queen!
	But then a sense of caution crept.
	He asked quite practically:
635	“Why do you need these weapons, lord?
	How will you pay your fee?”
	The lord dissenter answered him:
	“My reasons are my own.
	But know that when I win this war
640	I’ll take my mighty throne.
	I’ll pay you from the treasury.
	The realm will hold no debt.
	But first, produce the weapons, sir.
	You’ll get no money yet .”
645	The smith thought hard and gave response:
	Declined with an head shake.
	The world stood still with lord provoked.
	Had smith made a mistake?
	Dissenter grunted grimly then
650	but did not brandish arms.
	He spurred his warhorse onwards to
	vast endless lands of farms.
	The blacksmith breathed deep with relief,
	reflected on the scene.
655	He just refused an evil man
	and gold he could have gleaned.
	But he’d refuse a good man, too
	in similar event.
	The reason smith denied that man:
660	A credit pays no rent.

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Leave a comment | tags: blacksmith, credit, war | posted in Poem

April 16, 2015

The Security Guard

By Alex Longstreth

	The Security Guard
541	Security guard stood afoot,
	but night was getting late.
	His lead eyes now were drooping low.
	He has to stay awake.
545	He shook his leg and walked around.
	His coffee poured and flowed.
	The bank depended on this man
	to guard its liquid dough.
	Of course if he just took a seat,
550	relaxed his weary bones…
	The benefits outweigh the risks,
	and no one’d have to know.
	So sitting down, his eyes fell shut.
	“What if I fall asleep?”
555	he pondered in his dopey state
	as sleep began to creep.
	“What if a robber comes this night,
	armed with a pistol gun?
	Then would I be awake to put
560	that robber on the run?
	Asleep, I won’t be vigilant.
	The thief would prance right in.
	He’d march up to our giant safe,
	then empty it and grin.
565	There’d be a noise, the lock would crack,
	within the riches shine.
	He’d fill his bag, then he’d be off
	to live a life refined.”
	The guard recoiled and then he thought:
570	“What if my eyes did close
	and into slumber I descend,
	a deep and happy doze?
	What if a crazy man then comes
	and threatens with a bomb?
575	He holds me hostage for the cash –
	his sanity long gone.
	He yells aloud, sets off alarms.
	Soon news crews do arrive,
	and pictures of me ‘round the world
580	show uniformed man cry.
	The bomber man has no demands,
	for all he wants is fame.
	He shouts out Boom! and spins his gun,
	prolongs his twisted game.
585	Policemen offer deals to him,
	but bomber won’t have that.
	He knows his life is forfeit now
	so counts down his attack.
	Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four…
590	My end is nearer now.
	Light flashes! Forceful heat explodes!”
	Guard wakes, and wipes his brow.
	“Okay,” he says, “I should not sleep.
	I’ve got to do my task
595	or awful things made in my dreams
	might truly come to pass.”
	But then a worse, more fearful thought
	began to overtake.
	Reflecting on his awful dreams:
600	“What if I were awake?”