Peter Paul Rubens’s copy of The Battle of Anghiari
Picture courtesy of http://www.leonardodavinci.net
Screams, oh ye gods the screams!
they ring in my mind forever it seems.
The memories won’t leave me be
of that battle I cannot be free
I saw men hacked to death
leaving families bereft
As sword reigned down on all
cutting a swathe like trees did fall
I saw arms cut clean and blood flow free
heads rolled by, sightless eyes I did see
One seemed to talk back in shock
another screamed as it smashed against rock
Brain flew from intelligent skulls
and spear pierced many making holes
Bellies cut open, guts spilled
as entrails lay across the battlefield
Blood-soaked this green land was
where once children played, now lost
Only ghosts now haunt that place
the slaughter of many had no face
The madness took me then
from which there’ no defence
I wonder if I’m alive or dead
as I stare at my enemy’s head…
Posted on July 28, 2013
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