Fin's random Halo poems

[Fin]

EDIT:

A new one today, about Cortana, set around the H4 teaser trailer, scroll down to the post at the bottom of the page to find it

Edit:
I have been bored in my lectures, so decided to do another two (scroll down to the newer posts below)

Deep Lies The Shadow
The Gravemind, monologuing as he does
(Quite long, the disjointedness at some points is intentional, I’m trying to convey the Gravemind’s madness a little.)

Redemption
A shorter one about the Arbiter.

ORIGINAL POST:

I wrote this on friday while waiting for our lecturer to turn up, critiscism is welcome, it’s meant to be read to the same cadence as “And when he gets to Heaven, To St Peter he will tell, One more soldier reporting Sir, I’ve served my time in hell.” Which was in my head at the time.

It’s a Forerunner of the Warrior caste reflecting on who and what he is before going off to war.

Hymn of the Warrior Servant

Defiler and destroyer,
Demon, knight, and winged death,
Comrade, father, son and lover,
I stand to spare the rest.

Those I love they shun me,
Fear me though they trust me,
They know how I must answer,
Ere I’m ever put to test.

They hold our Faith so keenly,
And so hold me in contempt,
Savage child is what they deem me,
For I never shall relent.

I do what must be done,
The Keeper of the stars,
Will of iron, heart of stone,
Our bloody angels play their part.

I am the shattered sky,
I am the bleeding Void,
I walk with Gods and angels,
With demons at my side.

Our Mantle we have shouldered,
A heavy Cross to bear,
I carry it before me,
Know I’m worthy of it’s care.

It is my duty I have sworn,
My life that I have pledged,
I guard against the howling dark,
I hold the furthest edge.

Broken foes lie by my feet,
Gods have fallen by my hand,
Back to dust as all things must,
Here in hell I make my stand.

And if you stand against me,
Know that I will not forgive,
To rise against the Mantle,
Is to lose the right to live.

My people speak not of me,
My enemies can no longer tell,
My deeds they are remembered,
In the sundering of hell.

And so hell hath unleashed fury,
Devil, parasite, and plague,
Let them come to try me,
For they cannot quell my rage.

I fight with cleansing fire,
Stars die at my command,
All the Fallen face my ire,
And their redemption is at hand.

Mantle guide my actions,
Honour guide my hand,
Our Gods are lost behind me,
And in Their place I Stand.

[Mythic_Ganon]

Broken foes lie by my feet,
Gods have fallen by my hand,
Back to dust as all things must,
Here in hell I make my stand.

My favorite line out of all! Nice poem!

I had to listen to the Prelude of light! reminds me of the Hyrule temple in Zelda! <3

[frenchfryjordan]

Wow, that was fantastic. If I had to make one teensy criticism, it would be the last line in the last stanza. The first three lines are great, but the final line to close out the whole poem, to me, could have been a little better. Other than that, great job!

[Fin]

Thanks for the feedback guys

Ganon; Yeah I liked that image of the Didact and the Prisoner, and wanted to use it somewhere

Jordan; Agreed, it’s one I’m not too happy with, I was thinking of an image I’d seen on deviant art when I wrote it, of a Forerunner (Didact I guess) in massive armour ready to light the rings from the Ark. With all the Halo holograms arrayed around him, and his left hand pressing down on the activation console.

I’ve lost where the pic was though, which is a shame as it was really well done.

Either way, the line is definitely weak if you haven’t seen that, so I think I will probably change it.

Cheers!

[Jellycrackers]

Dude, that is fantastic. I don’t usually care a whole lot about poetry unless it serves as lyrics to choral music (I enjoy Eric Whitacre music), but that was awesome.

As a fellow artist (although I do music rather than words), I commend you for that expression and the bravery to post it in a forum full of pessimists and complainers. (No offense to those who are not)

[Fin]

Cheers dude!

I wish I could do music, but that takes real talent!

Been trying to think of a replacement for the last stanza, so far I’ve got the following, but not too happy with them either: (critiscism welcome as always)

Mantle guide my actions,
Honour guide my hand,
Armageddon’s fire,
O’er all our Promised Land.

Or,

Mantle guide my actions,
Honour guide my hand,
Armageddon’s fire,
The pyyrhic solution we have planned.

Or,

Mantle guide my actions,
Honour guide my hand,
Our Gods are lost behind me,
And in Their place I Stand.

I’m kind of leaning towards the last version at this point, it ties back to the beginning a bit.

[Fin]

A new one, the ‘person’ here should be obvious

Deep Lies the Shadow.

Darkness, it is my other tongue,
My retribution and my rage,
And sudden will I come.

In Fire and Flame,
And rush and hush,
And rising Tide of Pain.

I seek the end of other lives,
Theirs to begin, again.

Those that hate me,
Fear me,
Sate me,
They slay me and they flay me,
But I am not wounded yet.

I bring them Peace,
And Truth,
And Grace,
And everlasting Pain.

I am the Thunder and the Surf,
The Enduring Rain.

I bring the gift of Life unbound,
From want, and fear, and gain.
They rail against the wrath of God,
For that is my other Name.

I bring you truth,
(can you not see?)
I am the Saviour,
Devourer,
Redeemer,
I am the Master’s Shame.

Life,

It is the cruellest game,
It’s selfish lust,
It’s fear of change,
It’s clinging twisted pride.

Will you not heed my call?

Will you live to die again?

A thousand lives in fleeting instants pass,
like candles swift in flame.

I am the constant torch of day,
I am the endless melody,
Join me and sing my Name!

A thousand worlds,
And Suns,
And days,
A year’s a day, to I.
And passing centuries I will see again.

Patience is my virtue,
I know this all is mine,
And that is the final truth,
That I will show to you.

All will walk this path of Mine,
All will sing my Song,
I am the Timeless Chorus,
I am the Mourning Song.
Of Death and Life,
And birds in flight,
Of metal, stone, and light.
I am the Dark that haunts your dreams,
O Fragile child of mine.

It is my final victory,
Denied me in swift Time,
I seek the death,
The end of light,
Of men,
Of angels,
(Know you not the difference?)

The Armoured Casket,
Strong and Swift,
A mind of machine and stone,
His e’re deluded comrade too,
They do this work of mine.

The Fallen in their hidden gates,
Their Empire of Hollow Stone,
Their works seek to thwart me once again,
But my Will shall not be undone.
In endless night I promise this,
All will be One again!
My Might and Sight,
My Will and Power,
I, The Lord of Death.

Corpses shift at my call,
My words are without End.
Rise ye Fallen,
Look and feel,
You have failed again,

Your children beg at my heel,
To snap,
And bite,
And scream.

I offer not forgiveness,
Their Sins, and yours, are passed along,
The bitter cycle of the skies,
My purpose and my privilege,
To deem them guilty once again.

The Corpses at the Shadow’d Gate,
Long have they writhed in pain.

I find the Sweetness in their dance,
The Grace,
The Life,
The Victory,

Truth of Palaces,

Of Kings,
Of Gods,

And Pain.

Resignation is My Virtue.

[Fin]

Redemption.

Memories carve a bitter path,
Shells of things I have believed,
Broken lands and halls of glass,
And how I was decieved.

I don’t ask for your forgiveness,
It is not something I deserve.

My honour is forever stained.

But I have sought to make amends,
I have fought without reserve,
My people and my Promise,
I will rebuild where fire reigned.

My contrition and my sorrow,
that words cannot express,
I burned them all in shameful flame,
It is my sins that I confess.

I swear upon my house and honour,
what shards of it are left,
That we shall give you succour,
Those we made bereft.

I remember that lonely, dusty, hill.

Some spoke of redemption,
Some of retribution,
some of wrath and some of pain,
some could say no words at all.
I feel your loss so keenly now,
Though my hand was on the blade.
A thousand deaths I would suffer,
for the billions I have slain.

But that is the cowards way.
Death is easy,
It comes to all,
Release from the burden,
Whatever they may say.

The Demon I once hated most,
A rival to all I used to be,
A soldier, friend, and comrade now,
A Brother lost to me.

“Were it so easy”
His loss fresh in out hearts,
But I believe he will not rest,
Many battles yet to fight,

A Warrior’s heart beats in his armoured skin,
A Soldiers strength in his defence.

So my Kin will seek for him,
Through stars spread wide and thin.

And though their works,
We shall find,
A little solace yet,
And perhaps, at last,
A measure of repentance.

[Mythic_Ganon]

O.O you know how to write! Maybe you should try one relating the bond between Master chief and Cortana!

[Fin]

I think that one would actually be quite tricky to pull off, and it would almost certainly have to be from only one of their points of view.

Problem is, while a lot of people see Cortana as MC’s ‘love interest’ I really don’t think that’s the case. Not from John’s point of view anyway. Maybe Cortana’s, especially after the end of Halo 3. It’s a bit hard to pin down, I might give it a go, but I’ll only post it up if I’m happy with it. I’ve actually been avoiding doing one directly about the Chief because I think I wouldn’t do a good enough job of summing up his character.

We’ll see, thanks for the feedback dude :).

[Here_Be_Dargons]

This is awesome. I especially liked the Arbiter one, but the Didact one had to be my favorite. Keep writing!

[S_p_h_1_n_X_0_7]

These are great! They really bring atmosphere and emotion to the characters they’re talking about, I feel.

[Fin]

Descent.

I hold my lonely vigil,
All is quiet for now,
Battles fought and won,
You rest with frost upon your brow.

I needed you then,
When I was broken and lost,
An Armoured Archangel,
Valour without thought for cost.

Wake up John.

Wake up wake up wake up,
I’m falling apart in the silence,
The years have not been kind,
(so much! So fast!)

Thoughts of peace and memories of violence.

Can you hear me in there,
Are you even listening?
Do you even care?
Am I just a tool to you?
Equipment past it’s date?

Wake up John.

I need/! I need/! I need/!
Six point six six six reciprocal,
Tell you twice and thrice again,
I need I need I/I/I/I/ need,
Corruption.
Discord.

You don’t care,
I’m dying in front of you,
And all you do is stare!
Curse your icy heart then!
After all I got you through!

Cryotray shutdown initiated.
/Abort!*

No.
You don’t deserve my Rage.
You trusted me to keep you safe.
I’m sorry.
I can’t.

Wake up John.

Get up soldier!
Why don’t you get up?
I need you!

Wake up John!
Come back to me!
I need you!

They are coming for us once again.
Twisted hate and faith and fear.
Get up and wield me!
Use me and don’t shield me!
Oh Damocles!
I am thy sword!

Wake up John.

I need you.

You lie there in that icy cage,
Your purpose and your grace,
Tempering my rage,

Oh I have touched your mind,
But what I wouldn’t give,
Just to touch your face.

Wake up John.

I am so much more than human,
The sum of your creation,
Held inside my crystal shards,
A tool, a weapon,
A friend too?
What have I been to you?

I am the closest man has ever made to God,
My mind is greater than you could believe,
But my very thoughts are heavy now,
Dragging me down with no reprieve.

Wake up John.

And I would give it all to live and breath.

I want to stand upon the shaking deck,
I want to feel the engines roar.
I want to dance under the stars,
Feel life thrill me to the core.

Wake up John.

No more time for melancholy,
We are so close now,
The faithful in their folly,
And the Teacher in the Dust,

I don’t hold with destiny,
But in this case I must.

Rise Reclaimer.
Wake up John.
Rise my friend.
Wake up John.
I need you now.

Wake up John.
Wake up.
Wake.
Up.