Who Am I?

I am not rose petals, waterfall, childhood’s dream
I am not lullabies, tenderness, sweet summer rain
I am not the breath of babies, the taste of last year’s honey
I am not philosophy, magic, christmas morning
I am not art or poetry
No, not I
I am not Buddha, Krishna, God, or Allah
I am not Mary, Gandhi, Teresa, Lennon
I am not friend
I am not brother
I am not sister, father, mother, neighbor
I am not heart
I am not semen
I am not egg
I am not sun or moon or stars
I am not the wind upon your face
I am not warmth, compassion, courage
No, not I
I am not serenity
I am not laughter
I am not sunrise or the silver slippered moon
I am not you or she or he
I am not love or hope
I am not peace
I am bitter leaves, stagnant water, mother’s nightmare, father’s folly
I am screams and sirens, toxic rain of retribution
I am the stench of swollen corpses, the flyblown taste of this year’s slaughter
I am lying, deception, spikes of crucifixion
I am the song of suffering
I am Satan, Beelzebub,Wendigo, Legion
I am Attila, Charlemagne, Saddam, Bush
I am enemy
I am killer
I am destruction, disease, defiler, denouncer
I am the blackened soul
I am the evil seed
I am the poisoned womb
I am your darkest night, your darkest hour in your darkest day
I am the napalm flames dancing upon your face
I am hatred, cruelty, vengeance, fear
I am insanity
I am hopelessness
I am terror
I am guns and bombs and incinerated children
I am gas and tanks and fallen cities
I am ruin, pestilence, famine, and despair
Cold am I, dull,metal-barreled butcher heart
Feel my sweat ooze from your frozen flesh
Kiss my ashgray lips
I am plucked eyes, broken eardrums, splintered nostrils
I am numbness, the savor of dried blood and cracked bone
marrow
I spit on warmth, compassion, courage
I kick the face of your bliss
I strangle your sons, rape your daughters
I corrupt your spirit and break your heart, violate your home
I am the one who murders peace
Yes, yes, I
I am the one who hates what’s kind
I am the one who lies behind
I am the one who lies ahead
I am the one who craves what’s dead
Try to stop me if you can
Try to stop me who I am
I am the one who came before
I am the one who keeps death’s door
I am the one who makes tears pour
I am the pimp to Fortune’s whore
Ask, who am I?
My name is War