The forest holds slim-picked animals
(for money)
even for one family
when all the children are starving.
Each brother is hungry
for his own section of fresh meat
from the same animal,
bleeding fast & profusely
upon the green
Will they divide
their shared kill evenly?
Or will they sharpen their blades
against their own flesh,
so to gain a higher tribute
from the elders?
If one has to face the ones they love,
those growing distant over time,
and their taste of water is now
different from where
they came from,
coloring their tongues in new
traces of metal,
so they talk and taste
so different now…
Remember the love you had shared,
and don’t let the new blood
grow cold, thanks to
your indifferences.
Let your armor be of leather,
not of metal.
Let your gloves be velvet,
your arrows be sharp & sound,
let them fly true.
But don’t produce wounds
that can never ever be healed,
for they are also your blood.
The worst of blows
will cause pain to radiate forever.
Be careful what you do & say.
Sometimes the best offensive move
is to do nothing.