The Way Forward I take no joy in what I do It is what must be done Nor is there hope it shall avail This battle can't be won The arc of history is too long To bend towards good or ill The serpent rises and it falls And we, our parts fulfill All victory is only defeat A reckoning delayed No answer ever final All built, in time unmade Our path is drawn of blood and dirt Of pain and hate and fear A struggle no one ever wins Yet from it none may veer For what we do, it must be done Our hand cannot be stayed We will fight, and we will fall There is no other way ~Tonin, October 20 2017