No One Escapes Poem by Barry Middleton

a soldier dies on foreign soil
regardless how the just might toil
the eons pass but man cannot break free

upon a barren mountaintop
the incantations never stop
as mystic mantras pray for remedy

a tyrant gains the upper hand
to face the anger he has fanned
when mobs arise to tally up the score

the prince and pauper are the same
at last they find the end of pain
as death descends to close the final door

still tears fall from the poet's ghost
he did his best and more than most
to lift the hopes of those he may have met

but life is like a game of chess
we make a move we take a guess
and no one ever gets a second bet

the garden of Gethsemane
where Jesus wept and made his plea
is silent as the lonely April moon

now terror wanders every street
the hand of mercy out of reach
like memories of a long forgotten tune

the orbits where the planets spin
forget the tales that might have been
and legacy recedes like restless tide

so every man must die alone
no one to bear his body home
our destiny awaits where stars abide

the lessons of philosophy
have tried to set our spirits free
but lose their way in ignorance and greed

and yet the righteous don't give up
but raise again a sacred cup
for better soil to sow a hopeful seed