by Walt Garlington (August 2025)
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Naval cannons issue
Their deafening roar;
Tanks and planes add
To the brutal cacophony;
A syzygy of human flesh
With bullet, shell, and shrapnel.
The unholy war of ideologies
Rages on the beaches
Of Salerno,
Democratism versus fascism,
Staining earth and sea
With blood and gore,
Scarring land and soul,
Preparing an easy path
For the fierce and final Beast,
Who smiles with satisfaction
Under the waters
Of the Mediterranean.
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Seventeen centuries ago,
In that same small place,
The Beast suffered defeat
At the hands
Of three holy maidens—
Archeläis, Thekla, and Susanna.
With unwavering love for Christ,
With unshakable trust in Him,
They refused to worship
The false Roman gods.
They endured the awful torments;
They died faithful to their Lord.
How the Serpent writhed,
Conquered by three young virgins!
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But now is the time
Of his revenge
As the Holy Light
Of Christian Faith recedes,
And the bleak gloom
Of heresies
And hatred fills the world.
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Table of Contents
Walt Garlington was born and raised in that part of Dixieland called Louisiana. A chemical engineer by training, he has spent the last several years writing full-time. He has written essays and poems for The Hayride, New English Review, The Tenth Amendment Center, The Abbeville Institute, Reckonin’, Katehon, Geopolitica, and USA Really. He writes regularly at his own web site, Confiteri: A Southern Perspective.
Follow NER on Twitter @NERIconoclast
