Duncan Idaho

Idaho, that worthy name
from back and fore in time
shone brightest during Leto's reign
the hero in his prime

round of face and dark of eye
with curling black goat hair
a rogue with smile exceeding wry
and gifted with the fair

disciple of the Ginaz school
with sword unparalleled
victorious in every duel
all honor and pride upheld

in life, a proud and ruthless man
though moral to a fault
in death, his fame the ages span
for deeds the bards exalt

Road to Jihad

Upon a distant desert world two Houses fierce contend
So grave the outcome's consequence that all eyes do attend
Corrino and Atreides struggle for supremacy
At stake the spice, the universe's great commodity

The hardy desert Fremen fight for their adopted lord
The young Duke Paul Atreides whom the naibs did accord
A savior's mantle and the blessed title of Mahdi
And in every sietch on Dune the weight of sovereignty

The Sardaukar, Corrino's fearsome janissary guard
Looked on their foe with great disdain and miniscule regard
Scornful of the prowess that the desert men possessed
They sallied on the Fremen at their emperor's behest

So frenzied fought the Fremen for their messianic dream
They crushed the outworld infidels and proved themselves supreme
By end of day beyond the sundered walls of Arrakeen
Corrino soldiers stained the desert sands incarnadine

The Fremen host triumphant stood before the palace grand
Their august banners flying green and black across the land
The herald cried: Shaddam Corrino has been overthrown
And Paul Muad'dib, Atreides Duke sits firmly on the throne!

But all across the Landsraad worlds dissenting voices cried
For other noble Houses too with overweening pride
Laid claim upon the Lion's throne and took defiant stand
Against this upstart Duke and all those under his command

On hearing of this blasphemy that nobles from afar
Denied their Mahdi's righteous reign, the Fremen roused for war
Muad'dib in counsel ruminated in prophetic trance
And visions of jihad before his sight began to dance

Once more across the starry void the green and black unfurled
Aboard the liners of the Guild they strode from world to world
Infuriate by what they saw -- impious heresy
The Death Commandos grim resolved to cleanse the galaxy

For twelve years thus the flames of war engulf the universe
While billions of the dead decry the fey Atreides curse
Till long at last submission comes, his enemies relent
In silent peace, now Emperor, Paul pauses to lament

Dune Haiku, Part 1

The Test
my hand in a box
gom jabbar against my throat
animal or man?


Walk Without Rhythm
sand erupts - worm sign
walk without rhythm or else
become a light snack





Coriolis
gray clouds stain the sky
wind rises, billowing dust
the flesh eater comes


Swordmaster Redux
a Duncan ghola
my own private Idaho
make me another

The Tyrant's Plight

I stand in the shade
a sunlit path before me
paved with many lives

god and emperor
ruler of a million worlds
worshipped but unloved

bearing the burden
of countless generations
demanding audience

three millenia gone
encased in flesh not my own
I long for release

yet I must endure
for the lesson must be learned
and not soon forgot

Ode to a Slig

Some enjoy beef, some lamb, some pig
Yet no sweeter meat do I know than slig
Describedly foul and much worse on sight
This true epicurean's delight

The grossest amalgam of pig and slug
It turns away many, but I merely shrug
And watch those around me, their faces aghast
As I sit and enjoy my chimeric repast

The Ampoliros

Across the dark and endless deeps of space
Tossed upon the waves of time she sails adrift
Her ageless crew's eternal spark no gift
But wretched curse in that forsaken place
Within her wasted hull the engines thrum
A woeful drone to those entombed souls
That ghostly roam betwixt its shadowed halls
Who living thus, to madness must succumb
Once bright, their vacant eyes now wand'ring seek
A guiding star to that elusive shore
Where death brings peace that they shall never more
Endure the agony of hope and life turned bleak
So pass the days of torment and despair
Of they that draw the Ampoliros through the empty air

Arrakis

What dusty world is this? Devoid of green
And seared beneath God's limpid burning stare
Awash in heat, a hell without compare
From heaven's view a jewel so pristine

No rain has ever touched its arid face
A desolation bleak and full of misery
Whose dunes drown men as surely as the sea
Abode of worms, a land bereft of grace

Leto's Lament

of faces that I love
and places dear to me
these memories I have
are all that's left to me

bleeding lies my fallen house
its pillars shattered to the ground
undone by one so treacherous
his lies were never found

the valiant sons of Caladan
how bravely did they fight!
but all was lost and one by one
they scattered into the night

now ne'er more shall I behold
the starry peaks of Syubi
the sunlit seas and fields of gold
no longer shall I see

white seabirds calling in the air
and waves upheaving on the shore
anon these I shall never hear
or witness ever more

yet hope remains and so I pray
a bargain for my son and wife
their lives for which I dearly pay
the water of my own life

now faces are withdrawn
the places out of sight
my memories are gone
for now my soul takes flight

The Battle of Arrakeen

unruly sun
beats down upon
the city of Arrakeen
where in his lair
a steel affair
the lion lays unseen
above the rise
keen desert eyes
appraise the hapless foe
and lie in wait
for winds of fate
when storm begins to blow
a blast of fire
like heaven's ire
tears down the Shielding Wall
and hellish forms
of giant worms
hold the enemy in thrall
Muad'dib! The cry
goes up and I
give sign to all the men
across the bled
we forge ahead
into the lion's den
the hostile throng
five legions strong
arrayed in gilded tent
once mighty host
their lives now lost
on Dune their water spent

Yueh

physician to nobility
a conscientious man of Suk
though Judas he did come to be
and all for naught his oath forsook

that jeweled sign upon his brow
of loyalty and trust did lie
and did the Baron well endow
with means to doom the hawk to die

Gurney Man

Noble champion of Atreides
Leader of men, wooer of ladies
Servant of Leto, mentor to Paul
Bane of Harkonnen one and all
Birthed in the fires of Geidi Prime
Lethal with blade, deadly with rhyme
Versed in war and uplifting song
Forth into battle he carries along
His shield, his knife, his baliset
And hon'rable courage that none forget
Warrior, poet, unwavering friend
Valiant and faithful 'til the end

Old Man of the Desert

God and worm in one
leviathan he is called
Shai-Hulud his name

there are none like him
in all the known universe
both feared and worshipped

his rings are his pride
the water of life his gift
he cleanses the world

from beneath the sands
he rises like the mountains
devouring all

rivers of dust flow
in the wake of his passing
his cry fills the air

Coriolis winds
weathering rock, stripping flesh
echo his laughter

guardian of secrets
underneath cinammon sands
wealth beyond measure

giver and taker
father, old man, the Maker
worm and god in one

Preamble

Welcome to my poetry blog! As the title says, here is where I've decided to compile my small but growing collection of poems related to Frank Herbert's literary masterpiece. If you don't yet know what Dune is, click here.