2022 Issue > Poetry > Honor
Artwork by Mario Loprete
Honor
Dan Sniff
Cold steel, sharpened true
Ronin, betrayer, killed 2, injured 5
Rabid dogs must be put down
Final standoff on the bridge, eyes meet, blades ready
Clash of metal, one slip, blood flies
The betrayer falls, defeated
No anger, only regret
By the emperor’s will, it is done
Cold steel, sharpened true
Dissident, betrayer, sews the seeds of anarchy
A wild cur that bites its master’s hand
Those who create unrest must die
Leaves the market, free of caution
Blade meets throat, blade meets blood
The light of revolution fades
By the emperor’s will, it is done
Cold steel, sharpened true
Thief, betrayer, stole from the emperor
A gluttonous mutt that eats from the pantry
One hand isn’t enough
Pleas of innocence meet deaf ears
A final line cut short
Tears run red
By the emperor’s will, it is done
Cold steel, sharpened true
Child, Betrayer, the thief's son, an accomplice
A wide-eyed pup
No place for criminals, no place for doubt
The emperor’s will is truth
Hand raises, for it knows truth
Hand wavers, for it doubts
By the samurai’s will, it is done
Cold steel, sharpened true
Ronin, betrayer, killed 3, injured 7
Bit by the rabid beast
A failed mission brings only shame
To know shame is to know death
To know death is to be freed of shame
Cold steel meets cold heart
The dog is unchained
Dan Sniff is a sophomore Music Education major with a Choral emphasis at UW-Platteville. He is originally from Browntown, WI. Dan is involved in music on the UW-Platteville campus, including being a member of the music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He also participates in theatre at UW-Platteville as an actor.
Mario Loprete is an Italian artist who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Catanzaro. His Concrete Sculptures series makes use of personal clothing. Imbued within the works, his memory and his DNA activate within the viewer a mode of postmodern archeology that transforms his pieces into urban artifacts.