Camp Poetry

A few poems I wrote at camp

by Stephen Byrne

"When God Dies"

Blood streams like rivers of death
Flowing forth from fresh wounds
Dyeing the ground crimson beneath
As the Life slowly ebbs away
Cries of pain shatter the skies
Echoing into the very seat of heaven
Into the very ear of God as He weeps aloud
But He stays his hands
For it is being finished
The great Work of all eternity
What all history has groaned for
And it demands His death.

"To End All Wars"

Trampled in the stale earth
Beset by vicious attack
Left for dead depraved, alone
Wedded to wanton destruction
My eyes scan the heavens
Anticipating some relief
But nothing quenches fire
Raging against my flesh
Questions flood my mind
Yet answers never arrive
Silence is become my bane
Blood my sole brother
As red runs down my arms
Guilty of murder, self-induced
Suicide, for I destroy myself
Isolate from who would help
A fool to the end
A slave to the last.

"An Exploration in Mortality: Part A"

Frightening. Horrifying. Cold.
Macabre darkness overwhelming.
Into terror quickly delving.
Life surrendered, in slav'ry sold.
The blame resides in me alone.
Shame weighs as worlds upon my back.
Soul suff'ring ne'er ending attack.
Sorrow aches sinew and bone.

"Redemption"

Such is my unwelcomed life
Wrought with loneliness and strife
Crippling hurt, beset by grief
Unending pain with no relief
Shunned by fate, embraced by hell
And darkness reigns in every cell
I feel myself be torn apart
A shattered soul, a broken heart
Shuddering with every breath
I long to die, there is no death
My lungs, they heave, my head, it pounds
My heartbeat drolls with empty sounds
Misery is my closest friend
Yet seeks to bring about my end
All that remains is naught to give
This is no life, yet I must live