A Little Alliteration

(Did you see what I did there?)

Today's prompt was "damaged" and to be perfectly honest, it was rather too much of a prompt. My mind obligingly produced at least three possible ideas for a poem and then immediately decided that it was overwhelmed and shut down. For a while, I was leaning quite strongly towards a religious poem about the Sacred Heart being stronger for the spear wound in It, but I have noticed that I seem to be producing rather a lot of religious verse. Not that I consider that to be a bad thing, but I thought I really should try to get a bit of diversity into the writing, and went with the idea of a battle-standard being made more noble for its battle-scars. Of course, after I started it, I realised that I write an awful lot of battle-themed poetry as well, and that this in not really a departure for me. However, I had started it, and decided to stick with it - especially since it decided to come out alliteratively, and I haven't really done any alliteration during this challenge. 

They fought, nor faltered, yet the fight went ill

And step on step the soldiers gave

All had they given, now all seemed lost:

Holding - yet hopeless and hardly pressed.

Til a shout, and the standard stood again,

Its bearer unbeaten, yet bleeding sore

And the men took heart and hoped again.

For its wounded silk was in the wind

Blackened by fire and battle and blood

Tested as they, as rent and torn,

Done to death, yet holding fast. 

And sacred were its battle-scars,

Bloody with the blood of the King - 

Heraldry fit for the Hero of Hosts

They roused and roared and rallied fast. 

Yes, yes, I know. In spite of my intentions, it is still a semi-religious poem. It wasn't really meant to be. If anything, there was a slightly historic inspiration behind it - or rather, a line from a work of historical fiction. But this is how the poem came out, and that is that.