Jean of Arc --> a poem

Jean of Arc                                                                      A poem by Aranka Geerdes

“Give me your hand
And I will give you victory
Victory favours
Neither the righteous
Nor the wicked
It favours…the prepared
Which is worse ?
Nothing to defend
Or nothing
To defend it with ?
I say victory
Is better then honour
Why should one limit oneself
To the resources at hand ?
The sceptre of power
Is a fragile thing
In calloused hands”
Her commands were part rallying cry
Part sermon
And wholly undeniable
Her standard was a rallying point
For the army
And a target
For the enemy

The duty = To defend
The reason = To survive
Hope keeps the defenders aloft
But only courage
Keeps them in the fight
The heart’s courage
Is the soul’s guardian
People fight hardest
On their own souls

She didn’t need
To step forward
To become a hero
Everyone else
Just stepped back
“Don’t get up
I’ll show myself out”
She spoke
As she led the final march
Against the hated enemy
Ravagers of her dear land
Come from across the sea
To lay claim
To her beloved land
The former jewel
Of knightly chivalry

Sometimes a peasant girl
Can do more by faith
Then a king
By proclamation
Glory surged through her
And radiance surrounded her
All things were possible
With the blessing of the divine

But the star that burns twice as bright
Burns half as long
They fought together
And died together
Betrayed by those
Whom she chose to serve
The only true immortality
Is in dying
For a cause