Up rode the white horse,

From somewhere far below;

Prideful, full of power,

And charming as a doe.
*****
The rider was awesome,

Wearing many crowns;

His eyes were like fire,

As he struck many down.
*****
The people and the nations,

He would rule all;

He captured the money,

From all large and small.
*****
Our head or our right hand,

He would place his mark;

Whoever resisted,

Had to hide in the dark.
*****




His army was proud and strong,

And slaughtered at night;

The people were deceived,

And lived everyday in fright.
*****
Then down rode a red horse,

Like he had been there before;

To guide and protect us,

And keep us from war.
*****
This rider seemed amazing,

With a sword to persuade,

He caused nations to break treaties,

Their forefathers had made.
*****
He craftily set up circumstances,

That left the world in dark;

Forcing nation against nation,

With just a little spark.
*****





Once he rode to guide us,

And keep us from all harm;

Now he rides to compromise,

Peace and all its charm.
*****
A son will fight his father,

And the blood will vastly flow;

There will be no way to earn back,

The peace they used to know.
*****
Just as war was certain,

The black horse was on the way;

And with him came fear,

That goods would vanish away.
*****
The rider was quite a wonder,

With a sword of quick surprise;

Goods that last forever,

Now vanish before mere eyes.
*****





Now the fields are filled with pests,

And the fruit belongs to worms;

Oil and wine are turned to mud,

And the water is filled with germs.
*****
For jobs that filled the cities,

Now they have gone;

The people have no bread to eat,

When the nighttime turns to dawn.
*****
Where is wheat and barley,

Or money there to buy;

People began to hunger,

And watch their children die.
*****
A pale horse rode down quickly,

As life grew very dim;

With him came destruction,

From the three horse prior to him.
*****





The beast grew very hungry,

And turned to devour man;

And what they could not destroy,

Sickness and disease can.
*****
Fire and locust covered all,

And smoke filled the sky;

For where four men gathered,

One of them would die.
*****
Destruction and war was everywhere,

There was no place to hide;

Children died from hunger,

While mothers wept and cried.
*****
Confusion and fear filled the land,

With all that hell could bring;

They fled in shame to hide their face,

But none was there to sing.
*****





The horsemen have to come,

They soon will have to go;

So here’s a little secret,

That everyone should know.
*****
For those who saw the horsemen,

And never had to sigh;

Rode out with the true white horse,

To their home up in the sky.
*****


The Four Horseman by Gary R. Ferris