Mortal Instruments v Divine Weapons

It is finished! This poem raps up the unofficial Satirical Trilogy that began with Fp= Force of Pain and Mellifluous Maledictions. I actually wrote this a few months ago after Louder than a Bomb season ended, but I needed to make some finishing touches. I spent the most time on this piece and I may consider using this for competitions in the future. After this poem, my next works will take a different direction. Enjoy!

America…your 50 states are in a state of mass hysteria

There’s a virus spreading like malaria,

Look around in your area, and you’ll see nothing scarier:

Death is being brought from Desert Eagles and revived Jim Crows,

Stray shots silence souls and bury ‘em down under,

Bullets bury into Kevlar-free skin, as bangs! ring like thunder,

But this is just the beginning of the storm…

Smoke swirls out of confused silencers,

Silencing sorrowful screams and shattering serene scenes

Cold barrels are serving as voice pieces for an oppressed people

Their trigger fingers smash skulls, and clip the wings of the caged bird

The worth of words wastes away, while Langston’s dreams get deferred

Shaky hands and desperate minds serve as judge, jury, and executioner

As ballistic bullets bruise and batter bodies, sowing bullets into the bedding of graves

But these problems are more than skin-deep,

Now we have kids on the streets picking up pistols for cheap,

And teenagers are buying AKs for under 47 dollas

Shooting up places leaving more people at the altars

Police fire metal caps at hoods and snapbacks

Necks snap back when ropes pierce necks like thumbtacks

And when blood paints pictures of the streets, we call that abstract

And post it on our Instagram and forget about it till Winter,

Make a brief mention of Facebook and tell a few folks Twitter

We try to heal wounds with 2^nd amendments,

Yet our weapons are increasing like the size of our phones,

Turning people to drones, becoming more prone, to violence

Yeah, looks like these bellicose brawls are innate to America’s core,

You see, the Civil War was raging when Abe gave his four seven score,

Natives were killed when Columbus came from another shore

Yeah US has always had a belli for war

But has refused to fight the good fight here,

We protect life abroad, yet neglect it at home, going to international war zones

Spoiled, we search for oil, gasoline pumping life into our weapons

But we got problems at home, America

While your politics worry about your parties and priorities

Male sororities still utter racial slurs,

Law Enforcement authorities beat on minorities,

As pockets of white spit shoot on black ground,

Students from Cabrini and Englewood drown,

Amidst school topics they haven’t been taught,

They can’t break old ground, even though they have the knowledge

Told by society that they are nothing more than garbage,

America, we have students struggling to pay for college!

Their scholarships are sinking in these dangerous C’s plus,

Under resourced students get nothing less than D’s

They can’t cross the middle passage, cuz the schools pass average gives passage to life ending in a casket, leaving them burnt out, funerals in ashes

America, please break from your violent routine, and spare change!

But your dollars won’t make sense of this problem,

No our salvation lies in the one who was born in the manger’s shed,

The cross was his deathbed, where his love ran red,

It was the metal in the hand of the blood of the lamb,

That gives the promise of a new land,

So instead, of trying to fight fire with fire,

I am going to trust in Jesus Christ the Messiah!

His arrival is my survival,

He is not riding a war horse, just a plain old donkey

But with his 5 loaves and 2 fish he’ll bring an end to this anarchy,

Cuz right now, the flames of Mount Doom are heating up with 451 degrees

Trying to burn away the pages of scripture with false pictures of success,

And even though your atomic bombs leave valleys of dry bones,

Leaving Hiroshima and Nagasaki to groan

It’s God’s breath that puts life and flesh on those bones

His word that can get bread from a stone,

So I’ll beat back the world’s flaming arrows,

With the word of God that pierces flesh, blood, and marrow

And walk the road less traveled and take the narrow path,

Receiving scorn from the world is better than God’s wrath

And through the flames I will be refined like Isuldir’s blade,

As iron sharpens iron, I’ll emerge stronger through this fire

So America, look no further to elaborate schemes or battle plans,

Investing in more tech, will bring more screams and will destroy more land,

There is no war on poverty or on terror, just a war against our sinful nature,

So let’s look to God’s word, and call him Lord and Savior,

While planting his gospel by ourselves, like streams of living water,

And once the stone has been rolled away, founding fathers you will have found the father 

SWDD #3: Mace Windu

Once again, I have to apologize to the lack of posting. Due to the gap between this SWDD, and the one featuring Count Dooku, I have decided make SWDD a once-a-week series that will go on for seven weeks. I will fill in the gaps in between with other posts, but you can expect one new SWDD every Friday (keeping fingers crossed that I will be able to keep that up...)

With his bald head, signature violet blade, and unique mastery of the Vaapad lightsaber form (Form VII), Mace Windu establishes himself not only as a gifted swordsman, but as a staunch protector and defender of the Jedi code. Though his Padawan and knight years are shrouded in mystery, he is widely regarded as a "legendary master" both for his "aggressive fighting style" and "weighty words." Throughout the prequel trilogy films and the Star Wars The Clone Wars TV series, Mace Windu vowed to wipe out all evil in the galaxy, with notable accomplishments being spearheading the Jedi assault on Geonosis, defeating bounty hunter Jango Fett, stopping Boba Fett, leading an attack on Ryloth, handicapping General Greivous, and capturing the Zillo Beast. Whether through diplomatic methods or the channels of the Force, Windu fully committed himself to the Jedi cause, and despite temptation of turning to the dark side, he remained rooted in his beliefs. 

Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu
Image Credit: Lucasfilms

Ephesians 6:10-12 states "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (NIV) For all of the thwarted Separatist invasions, foiled heists, saved planets, and destroyed battle droids, Mace Windu never forgot what the true battle was: the light side vs the dark side, or rather the inward "spiritual" struggle. As the Jedi (who were initially known as peacekeepers and diplomats) began to take a more bellicose war after the Battle of Geonosis, Mace always insured that the Jedi would not compromise their beliefs or morals for the sake of winning a war. He knew that the true struggle was not necessarily winning the Clone Wars, but rather not to give in to the dark side. Windu remained strong and firm in the teachings of the Jedi. He knew that as long as he obeyed those rules and lived by those teachings, the light side would always see victory. Though he met a grisly death, his devotion bared good fruit, with Luke Skywalker achieving peace across the galaxy and eliminating the Sith once and for all (well....we'll have to see Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens to see if that is true...)


As a junior in high school (about to become a senior!), I too need to remember where the true battle lies. Temptation and sin surrounds me at every corner, and I must put on the full armor of God (the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet of readiness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and lightsaber of the Spirit sword of the Spirit) and take stand against the spiritual battle that lies within. Through God's word, I can stand up to temptation and sin, and be strong in his name. As Exodus 14:14 says, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." (NIV) In that truth, I need only to rely on Jesus for my source of strength. 

SWDD #2: Count Dooku

Today's SWDD character is Darth Tyranus/Count Dooku. Born to a noble family on the planet Serenno and trained by Master Yoda, Dooku showed promise and renowned skill as a Jedi Knight and was eventually labeled as one of the best swordsman in the galaxy. However, Jedi scandals, the "foolishness" of the Jedi council, and a failed Jedi mission (the Battle of Galidraan) whittled at his faith in the Jedi Order and eventually he broke away from it and gave in to the Dark Side. After doing so, he became a newly-christened Darth Tyranus, and served as an apprentice to the Emperor/Darth Sidious. Throughout the prequel films (as well as the Star Wars The Clone Wars TV series) Dooku frequently ridicules the Jedi for being too weak and naive, claiming that their unwillingness to embrace the Dark Side of the force results in their downfall. Yoda frequently claims that Dooku was a bright Padawan, yet he simply became too infatuated with the Dark Side's teachings.

Christopher Lee as Count Dooku
Image Credit: Lucasfilms

Romans 12:21 says "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (NIV). For Dooku, his lustful heart was drawn to the power that he could get from the dark side. Similar to Judas Iscariot, Dooku lost faith in the Jedi Order after it proved to be a disappointment to his expectations. Rather than becoming immersed in good, he slipped and let his doubt, fear, and anger take over him. For me personally, it is easy to be overcome by the sinful standards of today's culture. There lies a great temptation for me to not spend time in God's word. But if I want to overcome evil, I must do so with good. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that "Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that." In the same way, God's word can help me overcome evil with good, rather than being overcome by evil. 

SWDD #1: Wicket

Sorry I have not been able to post as much as of late. Between APs and ACT, there has not been one free moment. I meant to post this on May 4th, in honor of National Star Wars Day, but the medley of AP tests, homework, and lack of sleep resulted in this delay.

This post kicks off a 7-day series called Star Wars Daily Devotion (abbreviated to SWDD) where I will take Star Wars characters and find a Bible verse that can be applied to their actions throughout the course of the films they appear in. I first started this during my time at Patrick Henry College (I would write these for my counselor, Stephen Pierce, who was an avid fan of Star Wars). I will be pulling characters from both the original and prequel trilogies. Today's character is Wicked Wystri Warrick (more commonly known as Wicket), an Ewok who helped Luke Skywalker and his comrades during the Battle of Endor.

Warwick Davis as Wicket
Image credit: Lucasfilms

Compared to the towering Wampa, bestial rancor, agile Nexu, and gargantuan Sarlacc, Wicket's physical size pales in comparison to his fellow creatures. However, he makes up for his lack of physical attributes with his courage, loyalty, and brains. Wicket did not let his physical size get in the way of helping his comrades or friends. Rather give up due to the lack of attributes he possessed, he instead used the skills that he did have to the best of his ability.  His age and size did not stop him in the pursuit of his goal. 

1 Timothy 4:12 states "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity" (NIV). This sums up Wicket's actions perfectly. He set an example for others to follow, and did not let anyone look down on him. In the same way, as a Christian, I will not let my age get in the way of doing God's work. God can use me even now.