Crusade

This is no holy war nor jihad,
No fight for what's deemed right.
With bloodied hands on both sides,
In a war with no end in sight.

Of innocents slaughtered like cattle,
In each Supreme Being's name.
A war I blindly participated in,
To my undying guilt and shame.

No kingdom of Heaven found here,
Nor tranquil garden of Paradise.
Just simple ghastly mathematics,
Human attrition paying the price.

You're all doing the Lord's work,
Our priest's preach until hoarse.
Work of rape murder and torture,
Bane suffering without remorse.

The debased elements of mankind,
Displayed on an honourless field.
By Knights and by Saracens,
Sharing hatred's never healed.

Long swords duel crescent scimitars​
Cutting enemies down like wheat.
In enduring battles lasting days,
With neither side conceding defeat.

Back home scribes write poems,
Songs are sung of heroic deeds.
While here the dead are looted,
Purses bloated with vile proceeds.

I fell after Constantinople was sacked,
The culmination of our Fourth Crusade.
Shielding a woman scared to death,
Backstabbed by drunks out to degrade.

There is only one realistic outcome,
Not by higher powers but by fate.
A cruel fate in this war of hell,
A war not of victory but stalemate. 

Alas until wiser heads do prevail,
This forever war will never cease.
Hope embodies trust and compassion,
For all religions to live in peace.