this goodly man
this man of peace
this holy healing man
who preached
forgiveness
this god who
died without
anger &
was redeemed by
love.
the caesar Constantine
killed & conquered
by the sign of his
crucifixion
to consecrate the
blood of the lamb to
empire.
such was the
victory of the gospel
in those times––
marching forward
at the right hand of the
king
into the hacked
open heart of
battle.
the most brilliant
christian minds in the
middle times, tried to
reconcile the blood-
stained hands of
soldiers with
redemption & to
legislate the
means to make war
just.
in amerika’s indulgent
time, when war is
distant & painless,
if not quite,
regrettable––
celestial covenants
of peace are not
suspended––
killing is never
justified by
politics––
outrageous war
is never far from
hell.