You are Greek, they are Trojan
that is all you need to know.
They are your enemy simply because
they are not your friend.
You were told why you are here
a Trojan prince kidnapped a Greek General’s wife
Helen is her name, they say–
You wondered, of course
Is beauty enough to go to war?
Is a faceless woman worth fighting for?
but that question, you asked only to yourself
for you are here not to question
You are here to fight!
At the battle field,
you kill without mercy, you wound without regret
to gain victory is your honour, to kill is your pride
and to bring home your enemy’s armour is your prize!
At the battle field, you play with death
kill or be killed without dread or regret
for cowardice will only be rewarded with dishonour and death!
You never once cared for whether
it is a man or not behind that armour –
wait, a man? No, they are not human
They are Trojans!
They are not like you, you believed
you never once thought of the life they lead
or the family they are fighting for
They are your enemy!
All around you they fell
one by one
friends and foes
Trojans and Greeks
a spear pierced through your heart
you felt and you fell
and your helmet fell
a helmet never once befouled
a helmet that never touched the ground
and you saw your life passing
in a blurred motion picture
in your mind’s eye
your home…
your wife…
your son…
Oh, your son
how you wished he would grow up
a great warrior, like you
more glorious that you’ve ever been
he has still so much to learn
there is still so much you wanted to teach him!
A Trojan fell beside you
you wondered if he has a son
you wondered if he has a family
you knew then something you cannot tell
you learned then a knowledge you cannot pass
you realized then something important:
They are like us?!
You close your eyes and felt the darkness
you wondered how long this war will go on
you wondered when they will realise
how similar you all are
and then you wondered no moregiving in to the darkness’ claim
as you fall deeper and deeper to an eternal slumber…
