Peace by Pieces (villanellish)

By dwells

Peace by Pieces

A sea of faces, where there once were friends
Appeasement only lasted for an hour
We always thought that we could make amends

No more to speak – the truthful tongue offends
Their knives were sharp, while we the mute, did cower
(those bloody faces once belonged to friends)

The blasphemies an upraised fist portends
They took the hands that sought to take their power
Our legacy: too late to make amends

A pilgrimage to where the journey ends
At Babel, with the gathered at the tower
They took our feet, who said they were our friends

On bloody stumps; no weapon now defends
The Silent, dying as the summer flower
Of Wisdom, when Man’s foolishness contends

No mercy while calamity descends
The Deluge came as just another shower
A sea of faces, where there once were friends
We always thought that we could make amends

Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.

Published on Monday, August 5, 2019. Filed under: "Structured" and "Poetry"

Author's Note:

What we have done to offenders when there were no jails to contain them; some things never change...cheers!

Comments on "Peace by Pieces (villanellish)"

On Friday, October 4, 2019, flawofthepoet (52) wrote:

Beautifully sad. I love the repetition of the line about making amends.
On Friday, August 16, 2019, TropicalSnowstorm (1580) wrote:

This is an excellent piece with lots of quotable lines, although my favorite is â€œThe Deluge came as just another showerâ€...lots of wisdom in that. It never seems like a big deal until it is. Drop...drop...drop...flood. Also I am a sucker for any allusion to Babylonâ€¦ I took a course recently where they related an event in Which a later Syrian king diverted one of the rivers to flood Babylon in order to completely destroy it because he could not control its inhabitants to his satisfaction. Later, this kings own son assassinated him and used money from the treasury to rebuild the famed city. The cruelty and waste and squandered potential contained at every level of that story were exceedingly sad and I think relevant to your theme. Great work! Ciao, T/S
On Friday, August 16, 2019, Sudos (147) wrote:

Dormant power built up until the endings release. Very well written and a unique and beautiful flow.
On Tuesday, August 6, 2019, Cattarax (211) wrote:

Amazing word play here, the once where friends and not being able to make amends; this is a real thing no matter what walk of life you come from, there will always be someone(s) in life that push a boundary to far. Thank you Dan this really made me think and I loved that you used Babel in this!! ~*Cat*~
On Monday, August 5, 2019, Deviated09 (90) wrote:

Loving it. Good work Dwells, even years later, you still keep me entertained.
On Monday, August 5, 2019, dwells (4177) wrote:

Much thanks Dev 09 and glad you enjoyed this metaphorical musing. Cheers my friend! - Dan