Conflict

ˈkänˌflikt

my beloved is

my beloved is 
not the only reaper who 
stalks this battlefield

my bayonet seeks 
a heart also crafted in 
the image of god

the buddha i am 
is not the same buddha as 
the buddha in me

i hope to win but 
hope is not a strategy 
and strategy wins

life and death conjoin
amid the clatter of the 
iron dice of war

fight monsters with care 
lest you become the object 
you seek to destroy

what is more lofty 
than for a hundred men to 
march forward to death

i take the high ground 
because if i do not the 
high ground will take me

every harsh word that
passes between us bears a
payload of regret

poetic sexists
are definitely the least
acceptable kind