the soldier, the poet, the king.

AUTHOR: Kallie E. Sage

EDITOR: Mia

ARTIST: Flavija

the soldier.

“there will come a soldier / who carries a mighty sword / he will tear your city down

oh-lei, oh-lai, oh-lei, oh, Lord.”

her hands steady, her breath measured.

slow, certain steps.

she experiences nothing

but the rhythm of marching feet,

the weight of a weapon

she never wanted to hold.

she knows the price of peace.

she doesn’t ask if it’s worth it.

the poet.

“there will come a poet / whose weapon is his word / he will slay you with his tongue

oh-lei, oh-lai, oh-lei, oh, Lord.”

she lingers in the quiet spaces,

where silence stretches between heartbeats.

she writes of things too fragile to hold,

too vast to be caged in speech.

love, grief, the way light bends at dawn.

she whispers to those

who have already forgotten.

the king.

“there will come a ruler / whose brow is laid in thorn / smeared with oil like David’s boy

oh-lei, oh-lai, oh-lei, oh, Lord.”

she watches from her gilded tower,

a prisoner in robes of power.

she speaks and the world bends,

but power can be

a cold companion.

she has learned that a throne is

just a seat,

that crowns do not grant wisdom,

only weight.

she must choose who will rise,

and who will fall.