The Books of War

We trapped words in pages and used it to inform the ages
Past and present of everything we'd come to represent
The stories of those who had come before us, the chorus,
Forgetting those stories which were so-so and would bore us
Instead embracing the flow of those who spoke most sonorous
But the stories which were a must were those about our bloodlust
The tales of the fictional "us", the heroes who would slay to stay alive 

Would always narrowly survive, and the and only die if by
Doing so they could imbibe us with some killer wisdom
Though first their tales would be spread throughout the kingdom
Take the princess's hand and steal her father's land 

All following a dubious master plan
But fiction fantasies are fine, but in fact I was never a fan

Instead, I was more amazed and enthralled 

By those who actually survived through ambition
The master, the genius, the tactician
Those who first wrote the lines on risking human lives
And learnt the exact exchange for blood guns and knives
Who wrote their facts as abstracts in little paper pages
The books of war - passed on through the ages
Written in red ink so how many whole souls
Had been sacrificed for this slice of aims and goals
Listen, listen no surprise as you turn each page

As you hear the cries as you feel the rage
Uncover with hesitation one more line of genuinely killer advice with a ten soul citation
These were the books that went on to found nations

These were the books which would inspire the future trades in lovers
In mothers, in fathers, in sons, daughters, and lovers. 

Those were the books to make us fight one another
Lovingly bound in leather for the leisurely pleasure of the reader
Dotted with the 'i's of those who fought the field to bleed a cause
Without yield or pause -  fighting for what they felt was right
And so polite, they laid down their lives in both day and night
Exactly  in a field in the place and time they were told
Crossed their fingers and watched their general's tactic unfold
To the plans adapted from a book written centuries prior
By an scholarly author, whose words of wisdom in war would inspire
One more leader. One more who could make others die at their whim
That's all it would ever took for a new war to begin

And if you ever feel like books don't mean anything anymore
I encourage you to feel the doom in your hands when you hold the Books of War

Inspiration - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTCp0kJYF30, written as a tribute to MF DOOM