Ceaseless Strife

Ceaseless Strife

Sometimes I wonder
Before I dream the night away
Am I lost?
In this broken society
Striving for conformity

And then the blades clash.

My spirit is split in two
in the crossfire between
clashing katanas
held by two warriors
The Samurai and Ronin
The government pawn
drafted into battles he didn't ask for
Versus the lone swordsman
fighting according to his own ways
with ideals edge to edge
as the steel collides against one another
sparks flare
Igniting their grassy battlefield
into a blazing arena
The surrounding villages
burn to a crisp
People on the outskirts of combat
suffer and die slowly
Because of this violent quarrel
But the warriors only see
the vision of their opponents defeat

and the battle ensues.

One may overpower the other
from time to time
But there is no clear victor
Will there ever be?
They waste their lives
fighting in this nonsensical mêlée
Yet their own ideals bind them
from seeing deeper meaning
the possible peace
I wish they would call a truce
and work together to build a better Japan
or pierce their hearts
with each others cold steel
to end the suffering
the world has caused them

Yet the battle ensues.

Life or Death doesn't come across
their minds once.
The opponents defeat
promised a transcendental reward
Fabrication thought up by
both surroundings and inner pride
to provide a false sense of comfort
Masking the justification of murder
Which is said to be
the most evil of sins

Yet the battle ensues

Will they ever stop fighting?
Will there ever be a sense of comfort
they were assured of?
Will they brawl until they are sages
To be later enlightened about how
utterly pointless the battle was
And die as old men with unfulfilled lives?

Yet the battle ensues.

The sounds of the clashing steel
bring a strange comfort to my being
almost like a trance like chime
And I finally dream the night away

Leaving this battle unresolved.

Khang Nguyen (01/16/13)

All pictures from pixabay