Hymns from the Apocalypse depicts the harsh reality of war - the true nature of war not depicted in patriotic songs and movies. The piece is divided into two sections - a hymn-like melody that I felt would capture the essence of Wilfred Owen's Dulce et Decorum Est - a hymn sung on the obliterated battlefield at the end of a devastating battle in World War I. I used the final stanza of this poem as an introduction to the passionate Tears by Walt Whitman, where the melody is primarily based on a minor 6th leap, resolving down a step to a perfect 5th - a motif that I found to be extremely haunting, reflecting the evocative nature of the poem.