He had driven hard through shield and cry With daylight burning on his frame Still red with triumph, still upright Still answering every blow with flame Then grief came back with a brother’s hand Not loud, not grand, not crowned with fame A sudden thrust through bronze and flesh And war itself spoke out his name When the king bleeds Even iron learns to sway When the king bleeds The field forgets the shape of day Gold can flash and plumes can rise But one dark thread can change the scene When the king bleeds All the shouting turns and leans At first he stood and fought it down As proud men do before the line He would not yield the watching ground He would not bow before a sign So still he cut and still he roared Still sent his answer through the press But blood runs warm and truth runs slow And pain keeps widening underneath the chest When the king bleeds Even iron learns to sway When the king bleeds The field forgets the shape of day Gold can flash and plumes can rise But one dark thread can change the scene When the king bleeds All the shouting turns and leans Down his legs the brightness ran A darker red than dawn had shown No forge can seal a mortal seam No throne can make the body stone The hand still gripped, the mouth still gave Command enough to hold the air But now each step he forced from himself Was dragged through fire and hidden fear And those who saw it felt it first Before a word was ever cast How quickly courage changes weight When the tallest figure does not last The Trojans saw, and lifted breath The Achaeans saw, and felt it freeze For battle shifts on little signs A cry, a turn, a pair of knees When the king bleeds Even iron learns to sway When the king bleeds The field forgets the shape of day Gold can flash and plumes can rise But one dark thread can change the scene When the king bleeds All the shouting turns and leans Then to the chariot, hard and grim He gave the ground he would not name Not broken yet, but forced to yield Not emptied yet, but not the same He called to those still locked in dust Hold the line and do not bend But the sound of leaving carries far And every heart can hear that end So let them praise the bronze he wore And all the men he drove before him But remember too the wounded hour When power stood and blood tore through him For kings may shine like hammered suns And stride as if the day were theirs Yet one red wound before the ranks Can unmake more than metal bears When the king bleeds The plain remembers what is true That no man walks above the blade However bright the gold may do When the king bleeds The tide begins to turn unseen And all the war that crowned his strength Starts slipping through the wound between
