LISTEN UP
When iron night upon the rampart lies,
And mortal tongues grow bold to try the Law,
Take heed, thou heart that other hearts despise—
For Heaven marks each whisper that it saw.
“Judge not,” the Christ declares, “that ye be not judged.”
(Matthew 7:1, KJV) the warning tolls like steel.
“For with what measure ye mete,” stands the pledge,
“It shall be measured back to you.” Now feel
The weight return—the dart thou flung in pride
Comes wheeling home to pierce thy guarded breast.
“Wherein thou judgest, thou condemnest thyself.”
(Romans 2:1, KJV) the mirror makes request.
“For all have sinned,” the marching verdict drums,
(Romans 3:23, KJV) and stills the boastful sums.
From Sinai’s flame ten thunder-orders roll;
“Thou shalt have no strange gods before My face;
No graven image bend thy knee or soul;
Take not My Name in vain nor cheapen grace.
Remember thou the sabbath, keep it whole;
Honour thy father, mother, breath, and days;
Thou shalt not kill, nor break the marriage bond;
Steal not; bear witness not in crooked ways;
Thou shalt not covet house nor wife nor gold.”
(Exodus 20:3–17, KJV) Ten cannons blaze
Across the ranks of young and gray and old—
No banner flies unstained before their gaze.
Thus Law recruits the guilty, strips disguise,
And leaves no boast alive beneath these skies.
A field. A stone. A brother fallen low.
The earth drinks red; the wind forgets to move.
Then speaks the Judge: “Thy brother’s blood doth cry
Unto Me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10, KJV) Prove
That blood has tongue, that memory is a fort;
“Vengeance is Mine,” saith God, “I shall repay.”
(Deuteronomy 32:35, KJV) No final court
Forgets the slain nor lets their voices sway
To silence. Abel’s cry outlives the night;
The soil keeps ledgers deeper than the bone.
No tyrant’s grave escapes Almighty sight;
No murderer outruns the Throne.
For justice waits though ages veil the scream—
And God remembers every crimson stream.
And Enoch saw beneath a mountain vast
Four hollow chambers hewn in ancient stone.
“I saw the spirits of the dead,” he passed,
“And their voice reached heaven.” (1 Enoch 22) The groan
Of righteous souls in brightness set apart;
Of sinners held in shadowed pits confined;
Of those by violence torn from beating heart,
Who wept till Judgment’s day their cause would find.
They wait “until the great day of judgment,”
(1 Enoch 22) remembered—not erased.
Thus God built memory stronger than lament,
A citadel where justice shall be faced.
The slain are garrisoned in sacred deep;
Their cries are kept; the Lord doth keep.
“The LORD is a man of war,” the anthem rings.
(Exodus 15:3, KJV) His counsel stands secure.
“I am God, and there is none else,” He sings;
“My counsel shall stand.” (Isaiah 46:9–10) Sure
As iron ranks of angels clothed in flame,
The host assembles bannered in His light.
Trumpets split marrow—BRAAAAM—they cry His Name;
Wings clash like tempests vaulting through the night.
Voices like many waters surge and swell,
“Holy, holy, holy,” thunder hurled.
Mail chimes like frost on towers of citadel;
Their shout makes tremble all the world.
No rebel throne withstands His sovereign nod;
No power prevails against Almighty God.
“Put on the whole armour of God,” the cry.
(Ephesians 6:11–17, KJV) Gird fast with truth;
Let faith arise; let righteousness stand high;
Let salvation helm the mind of youth.
Take Spirit’s sword—the Word that cuts within,
“Sharper than any twoedged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12, KJV)
It parts the marrow from the masked-off sin,
And tries the thoughts no guarded tongue has told.
First conquer self ere thou correct another;
Cast out the beam before the mote is named.
(Matthew 7:3–5, KJV) Be soldier, not accuser;
Let pride be slain, let mercy be proclaimed.
Heaven’s martial code is stern and clear:
Repent—then stand; else fall in fear.
Now comes the march where pride must taste its wage:
“The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23, KJV)
The gate is heat that seals like furnace-cage;
The air is weight; no mercy flows to thee.
Sulfur and ash invade the choking breath;
No dawn relieves; no coolness crowns the skin.
“There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
(Matthew 13:42, KJV) Bone grinds bone within.
Light burns but warms not—only brands and scars;
Darkness screams though no wind stirs the cry.
“Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.”
(Revelation 20:14, KJV) No stair climbs high.
Touch turns to torment; memory chains the mind;
Regret beats time where hope is never signed.
Then sounds again the trumpet from above—
BRAAAAM—till trembling shakes the vaulted dome.
The host cries “Holy,” oceans forged of love,
And every knee shall bow before His throne.
Scripture is sword and mirror fused in one;
The blade thou hurled returns to search thy heart.
Lay down thy pride; let mercy’s work be done—
Choose now thy camp before the worlds depart.
Hear Abel’s cry; feel Sinai’s righteous flame;
Behold the chambers carved in stone and breath.
This hour stands near; eternity the same.
Life leans its weight against the edge of death.
Listen up—the war-horn will not wait:
Repent, enlist, before it is too late.
Written by Marguerite Grace
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verse, possies, sonnets, and short stories 