broken lineage

He roars when he speaks
His wife watches and weeps
"Traitors!" "Betrayal!"
He cries out in his sleep

His fierce demeanor
Strikes fear in the stranger
Arms thrashing and flailing
He paces alone in anger

But in a moment of stillness
             look at his face.

Those wild, blood-shot eyes?
Expose the brokenness inside
Of centuries of inherited dreams
Shattered
by a lie.