popes, queens, tyrants
brutish, magnanimous, just
pauper, moneyed, common, the curious
all have met my unflinching, stoic eyes
grief finds my inorganic heart, as
I cannot spool the narrative
searing passages scribed in crimson
paragraphs of calm, chapters of war
whispers, intrigue, lovers finding
dark corners, stealing a kiss
glint, flashing iron, steal
have speckled my bulwark folds
still, hidden there, blood
of popes, queens, tyrants
brutish, magnanimous, just
pauper, moneyed, common, the curious

poem and photo © by DC Lessoway