ante bellum - the calm before the storm

i glimpsed the future at the bus stop. i saw it in their eyes, i smelt it in the cigarette smoke in the air, they chaffed and i could hear it in the tones that drifted in the air...'and you think you're so great...soon you'll be amongst us when you drown in your dreams.' it echoed in my ears and despite trying to block it out with my mp3 player it continued to resonate in my head.

fear and trepidation gripped me as the cold sweat dripped down my head on the bus home. leaving them behind, their words didn't stop coming as they consumed my soul. the icy cold water that rushed down my head did nothing to cleanse my soul, instead the feeling was akin to doing a 12G spin and the blood rushed from my head leaving me on the verge of collapse...

i can see the hordes amassing on the frontier, a facelss mass of black and white. i can hear their chuckles as the clouds of war gather. soon they will smash into the thinly fortified walls of my kingdom. my dreams. my aspirations. as guardian of this temple, i have failed in my duty to bring pride and glory to the name, decadence has led to degration and inaptitude. i pray a thousand prayers for thine own death. even then, to perish in battle is better than to perish an unknowing fool. to die without making a stand is the act of a coward. even Custer the old fool made a stand. i will ride out and meet the devils for all its worth. they might say me unwise, but let no man call me a coward. O think me worth thine anger, punish me, burn off my rusts and deformity as the last die is cast. gather what strength i have left and pour forth into the heat of battle. at the gates, fate will deal the decisive hand. pattern out the judgement then.