The Manzikert Route

‘Twas ill the fate
Beset that day
When Byzantine force did stand
With might and main
To break their foe
And cease their conquest grand.

And though they had
A mighty force
Trained for victory,
They could not drive
The Muslim hordes
Away from Manzikert.

The battle was gruesome,
Bloody and brutal.
The casualties were great.
With valor, and courage
Immense they fought;
Their defeat they could not escape.

The brave, courageous,
Chivalrous knights
Their weakness quickly met.
They soon discovered
They hadn’t the stomach
For what they were about to get.

The Muslims charged
In human waves
Heedless of their peril.
Naught did they care
For loss of their lives
These to Allah they looked to spare.

Higher and higher
The dead did pile
‘Til Byzantine force unnerved
Grew steadily ill
And ill still more,
The warriors greatly disturbed.

For such disregard
Of life so dear
Saddened that Christian force,
And destroyed their former
Courage and might
‘Til none had the will to war.

The Muslims charged on
To victory claim
And hasten Byzantium’s defeat.
‘Twas the bodies that lay
Amassed in heaps
That defeated the proud Byzantines.

Bodies, bodies everywhere
Strewn about the ground;
Bodies, bodies piled high
Their last defense to route.