2ndwitch: With banners unfurled

With banners unfurled I approached the fortress before me,

And contemplated the locked gate that barred my way.

I stood proud and serene, confident of my victory,

No thoughts of defeat could sully my one perfect day.

I knew I was right, my soul could not brook defeat,

I knew that my foe would soon crumble and fall.

My head held high, I moved to the moment I’d meet

With the one who defied me, who rejected my all.

Instead of success, my words simply splintered, and shattered,

They fell to the ground and vanished like fragments of ice.

My arguments died, I was rejected, my reasoning battered,

And my march turned to shambles, my pride to mere vice.

No listening ear was attuned to the pain of my going,

No kind-looking eye was concerned with my stumbling steps.

No last-minute mercy was offered, no tenderness growing,

And no vestige of hope was preserved ere I left.

Again and again this pattern has set down before me,

Again and again this map has been how I am sent.

No replay of loving, no kindness has oft reassured me,

But the harshness of hatred is the truth that is meant.

With banners unfurled, but drooping with sadness and heartbreak,

I stumble away from the scene of another mistake.

2ndwitch