he lives by the steel
by the blood and the blade
by the sword and the scythe
by the edge of the axe
by the breaking of bones
he lives by the steel
he thrives by the steel
by the sickle and slicing
by the stealing of goods
by the fist and the rapes
by the breaking of glass
he thrives by the steal
he loves by the steel
by the scarring of skin
by the carving of flesh
by the saber and sword
by the breaking of oaths
he loves by the steel
he dies by the steel
by the night he is caught
by his living with lies
by deceiving his friends
by his living and thriving
by breaking his love
he dies by the steel
Franz Stuck
Today I host dVerse MTB, and concludes the week of our ten years celebration. We are doing chant poetry, where the use of extreme repetition is used, either in part of the poem or throughout the whole poem.
July 15, 20221
Björn Rudbergs writings 
A full circle from life to death by the steel Bjorn. The path of his journey is clearly seen from his decisions – thriving, loving, breaking of bones, glass, oaths, and love. An excellent example of chant poetry!
So dark, and like Grace said, it is indeed a cycle of life.
I read a lot in the news these days about young men being drawn into violence …
Nice. I like how you played off the saying live by the sword die by the sword. You fill in the sad tale of his life. Strength is found many other places than the sword. May yet join in, nothing yet. Will see.
Hope you do… you can take it easy and I found that it wrote itself after just a few lines.
This is deliciously dark and poignant, Bjorn! Life is indeed governed by the path that one takes, by the choices made and the consequences that follow. I love the use of rich language and the repetition here is just perfect- a chant in every sense of the word and more. 💝💝
I am pleased this character met his end by the steel, after all the horrendous things he did! I like the bold imagery; to me this has a feel of a Viking chant.
Powerful writing Bjorn. You convey the feeling of ‘living on the edge’ in the true sense of the word.
A brute will meet no gentle end. You bring this brute to life with your repetitions. A person like that can cause a lot of suffering to a lot of people.
Live by the steal, die by the steel. Somber and so well written!
Oh hell this is strong Bjorn — by the steel, I love it!
Reading the first few lines i really thought he was a farmer. Far from it. He lived by his nean choices and karma got to him. Nice one Björn
Thanks for dropping by to read mine
Much💜love
A fierce chant. I love the way he lives by the steel and dies by the steel.
I really like piece, and it does have the rhythm and the throb of a chant, with the trappings of list poetry. I feel like, to some extent, I have already been writing “chant” poetry, like in BUK.
The sense of Karma and Fate coming full circle on this sears. I’m so pulled in by the rhythm of this. A marvelous telling of one living and dying by the sword.
Spare. Hypnotic. Outstanding. Kudos, BR
Yay, you wrote a serial-killer poem for me. 🙂
I especially love this line: “by the sickle and slicing”
This is a most excellent ending:
“by breaking his love
he dies by the steel”
Never break a woman who loves you. You will never stop paying the price.
the beat of this exudes that chanting vibe. i can see how women who were fooled by this man encircling him and chanting this poem. so good.
Wow! Awful! Violent and harsh. Strong and bold. Sharp and searing. I like the plays on steal and steel. I felt vikings and all sorts bulging out of that poem, sharp as meat axes. What a write!
Wow, that’s really powerful, and it’s so compelling – you can’t stop reading, even though it’s so dark.
Love the build-up of scary undoing which rightly ended in poetic justice for all the wrongdoings. A great balanced write, Bjorn!
Hank
Living, thriving, loving, dying …. how beautiful your chant. Thanks for a great prompt, I live far from my Aunt Mary Lou, we have had wonderful phone conversations for many years with in person reunions too … life support ends later today as her children gather.
A fitting end, I’d say. (K)
Dark, Bjorn, and powerful…JIM
interesting one, I’ve heard a few drug users say how they love the feel of the steel in their arm but you’ve taken this to a whole new level … a good chant but too gory for me
You convey the feeling of ‘living on the edge’ in the true sense of the word.
Dark, with a good rhythm and story. Feels almost gleeful in it’s chaos and impulsivity to take and destroy. Nicely done.
The sense of Karma and Fate coming full circle on this sears. I’m so pulled in by the rhythm of this. A marvelous telling of one living and dying by the sword.