Category Archives: Poetry

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 1 – “Where Are the Heroes?”

I got the idea for this a few months ago while watching the movie Courageous. However, I remember having a better version in my head than what I was able to piece together and write today.

Where Are the Heroes?

I raise this, my lamentation,
For I see men, but no heroes.
Gone are the days of chivalry,
When valor fueled the hearts of men,
And duty to God, country, and family was his all.

Now a man may die for another,
But he won’t be a friend.
He may work,
But he won’t provide.
He may “love” a woman,
But he won’t be a husband.
Manhood is squandered,
Responsibility is shirked,
Heroism is forgotten.

But a remnant remains,
A remnant that remembers the days of old,
Whose lives outshine the heroes of screen, comic, and legend,
Whose battle cries beat back the darkness
And spare the world God’s unbridled wrath.
Rise up, men of courage!
Save us before it’s too late!

Poetry

A Psalm

A Psalm
By Nathan Marchand

Vindicate me, O God,
Be not deaf to my plea!
My enemy has triumphed over me,
His heart swells with pride at my defeat.

His tongue is forked like a serpent’s,
His words the venom of snakes.
He spits them in my face,
Burning my eyes nearly to blindness.
My dearest friends drink his venom
and are poisoned against me.

Cut out his tongue with Your Sword of Truth,
O LORD God Almighty,
So that he may be silenced.
Be my Shield against his venomous darts
that my integrity will shine.
And be the Serum of Truth
that purges his lies from my friends’ hearts.

My LORD and King,
You are the God of Justice
Before Whom all unrighteousness perishes.
Look upon me and bring me justice
while I am yet in the land of the living.
Then I will proclaim your praises to the peoples,
Your great deeds to the ends of the Earth,
That all may know the glory of my God.
                                                                        Selah

Poetry

Pearl of Great Price

Pearl of Great Price
By Nathan Marchand

Long have you searched the world
Seeking her—the rarest treasure.
She is worth far more than rubies,
But who can find her?

She is a precious stone, a pearl of great price,
Often thrown before swine
And trampled in mud,
But never losing her luster.

Find her while she may be found.
But if you do, you must sacrifice.
Sell all you have, lay your pride aside.
Only then, by suffering, can you pay her great price.

But it will seem like a pittance,
For her beauty is matchless,
And like a snowflake, there is none like her,
And never will be again.

Will you fight to earn her?
Will you prize her, cherish her?
Will you polish her so she may shine?
Do so, and she will be your crown forevermore.

Poetry

Unwanted

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Unwanted
by Nathan Marchand

By sweat and toil,
I dug through rock and dirt
Until at last I found the gem,
The rarest and most precious jewel.
I rushed from the cave, overjoyed.
I hurried to meet my Beauty,
And gave it to Her.
But with sad eyes, She rejected my gift.
So, I watched Her walk away,
Leaving me all alone
As my tears fell, staining the cracked gem.

Poetry

Never Christmas

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Never Christmas
By Nathan Marchand

I walked down the empty street,
And along trotted a horse pulling an open sleigh,
Wherein rode two lovers, lost in each other,
Bathed in a rainbow of Christmas lights.

Cheeks met in a snuggle,
Snowflakes were brushed away by a caress,
Ears were tickled by whispered sweet nothings,
Lips were warmed with a kiss like fire.

I watched, and my heart was frozen
By the icy winds of loneliness,
Yet it wasn’t numb to the pang of longing,
Where Lost Love had pierced with dagger.
I’ve no one to warm my heart,
Where it’s never Christmas, only winter.

I’d trade all my gifts for a sweetheart!
     A Transformer for a hand to hold!
     A Blu-Ray for a sweet nothing!
     A Playstation 3 for a kiss!
     A plasma TV for a pledge of undying love.
Alas, it is all for naught.

So I watched as the lovers, horse, and sleigh
Vanished into the mists of the winter night.
I was again, as usual, cold and alone.
For me, it’s never Christmas, only winter.

Poetry

A Man Out of Time

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A Man Out of Time
By Nathan Marchand

I was born too late

I should’ve been born a millennia ago
During the days of knights
When a man distinguished himself serving God, king, and country
And won fair maiden’s heart with his chivalry
Because men living by honor were envied by all

I should’ve been born five centuries ago
During the days of Reformation
When men risked even death for the Truth
A Truth worth all the beatings, hangings, and burnings
A Truth that offered True Life to all

I should’ve been born two-and-a-half centuries ago
During the days of Revolution
When colonists banded together and forged a nation
When patriotism was a virtue
And examples of heroes left for generations to come

I should’ve been born seven decades ago
During the days of heroes beating back the darkness
When warriors died for the Dream or returned as heroes
When men were praised for sacrificial service
And defended the right of others to criticize their work

Mine is a time of cynics
When pessimism is the path to “enlightenment,”
Good men are sought for destruction, their virtue assassinated,
Heroes are shunned, their callings spat on,
And hopeless hearts are exploited

I am a man out of time,
A romantic among cynics,
A warrior among cowards,
A light in darkness,
Carrying the ideals of times past
Only to meet with Rejection
And give my heart this era’s bitter waters

Yet will I fight for freedom, Life, and ideals,
For God, king, and country
Never retreating, never surrendering until victory is won
Like the men who went ahead of me
Before my delayed birth.

I am a man out of time born at the right time

Poetry

Valor’s Heart

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Valor’s Heart
by Nathan Marchand

Endure! Endure!
Though burning arrows pierce my chest,
Poisoned swords cut my side,
And traitors’ knives stab my back.
Yet will my Valor’s Heart,
a gift of my King,
Fight on.

Hold the line! Hold the line!
Let not the Enemy advance
To steal, kill, and destroy!
I hold back the black torrent
As red rain pelts my face.
He shall not pass so long
As my Valor’s Heart beats.

I fall! I fall!
To my knees, sword in hand,
Stained with my crimson life-blood
Mingled with my Foe’s black blood.
My strength is spent, my time has come
To exit this stormy stage.

The Enemy laughs as his
black sword plunges into my chest
But though he slays me
My Valor’s Heart still boom-boom-booms
Like a war drum drowning the battle’s thunder,
Summoning my King’s warriors to the line,
the Enemy of my Soul shuttering at their battlecry.

Rest now, rest.
I return to my King
But Death has lost his victory,
His sting is dull.
And my Valor’s Heart,
a gift of my King,
Still rallies His warriors
’round its thunder.

Poetry

Coma

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Coma
by Nathan Marchand

I lie upon a deathbed,
My life-thread pulled taut against
The edge of the Fates’ knife.
Scorned by the hellcats and scoundrels
Who beat me and left me to die,
I cling to life thanks only to
The brave and persecuted few
Who still love me.                   
I am Chivalry,
And I am not dead, but asleep.