TAKING UP ARMS

          “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation;

          neither shall they study war any more.” (Micah 4:34)

But wait, young prince.
There’s another choice
besides opposing the world,
and its sea of troubles
or offing oneself.

Taking up swords and spears
never ends the world’s woes,
its heartache and shocks,
but multiplies them a thousandfold
and makes beggars of us all.

Lay down your weapons,
walk the field of the fallen,
gather the severed arms of those
who will no more embrace
mothers, lovers, babies.

Take them up to the houses
of the holy for sacrifice
and choose for yourself
to heal the world and its wounds
or not to heal.

Michael Blanchard was born in Baton Rouge but now lives in the Cadron Valley of Arkansas, where he teaches at the University of Central Arkansas and edits SLANT, the school’s international journal of contemporary poetry. His fifth and most recent poetry collection, The Things of this World, was published in February of 2026.