Thundering jets,
hooves spew fountains of dirt
as arrows arc from rider’s bows
into rows of Saladin’s Ayyubid army,
lances forward,
fighting on fields of forever.
Silver shimmers on hilts spilling blood
slashing as swords clash and clang,
amputating hands, answering God’s mighty call.
Knights Templar wield their holy swords
warring for Jerusalem,
an unfolding jihad.
Overhead a crow caws,
a tether rippling from its talons
as it scans the warring hordes.
A page of history rises like a status update
while the black bird circles the two Gods’ fighting yard,
an unholy park of steel and flesh—
spilling blood for a city,
spilling blood to prove which God is just:
Allah or Yahweh,
Allah or Our Father.
Horses step and scream.
Chinks in chain mail armor open,
as Ayyubid spears thrust through warrior chests.
Knights Templar rise and fall.
Neither side rests
unable to curb adrenaline’s slice
until death does them part
fervently falling into fields of forever.
Brenda Warren 2013
VIsit The Sunday Whirl
Process Notes: Salah ad-Din, or Saladin lead an army called the Ayyubid army (I did some searching to find that name, as I wanted to be historically accurate). He captured Jerusalem, defeating the Knights Templar in 1187. I’ve been steeping myself in medieval movies, and watched Arn twice yesterday on Netflix. It is also a six episode series on Netflix. The series goes into far more detail. Both or either are worthy of watching. Arn is a Knight Templar. War in the name of God seems contradictory, yet it is common.
undercaws 
Excellent writing. So vivid!!
universe will not hand it over to you
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Wow!! what a battle scene!! Being in India it reminded me of parts from the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata!! For eons the battle scenes have never changed all over the world!!
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you reminded me of the last book I read : “King’s X”
It was set up in the era you mentioned here with a knight templar as its central character
Brilliantly written this one. Accurate too 🙂
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Oooh, you had me at Thundering jets! A great jump off point for something deeper, I think. An adventure in the works! Great job, Boss Lady!
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Saladin’s story is an interesting one, and you’ve recounted this particular tragic bit of history well.
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Yes, this loudly clatters through the pointless but never the less happening of war, and in the name of ‘God’! The removal of hands was particularily vivid and refers obliquely to systems of justice that are blessed by ‘religion’…
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I hesitated to press like – fighting being anathema to me – but was forced to because of the beauty of the writing!
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Man usually fights man and the Gods are silent, weeping.
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What an amazing, epic piece! The battlefield comes alive in your verses.
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Brilliant take, Brenda! You went through the works to present a historically accurate posting! How sweet of you! Enjoyed it very much!
Hank
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This felt so real! And the end so tragic… they fight until they annihilate one another and all in the name of God? Crazy!
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I was transported into the medieval set, Brenda.
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very enjoyable read, both poem and process notes. I also wrote again from your wordle list, except I realized after reading your poem that I mistakenly read spill as spills. Thank you for The Sunday Whirl, it inspires me to at least continue attempting to write despite my continuing loss of vision. I may even attempt to go backwards through the previous 110 other Whirls LOL.
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Brenda, your alliteration is wonderful here. Excellent read. I knew from the first stanza where this came from 😉
Pamela
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Love this!
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I, too, like your word choices and sounds, vividness, Brenda.
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Oh! The sounds here are fantastic. Vivid images, too. Gorgeous.
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