Poem (Based on the Prologue)

The young man awoke
Startled by the clear but commanding
Voice of his host

“Remind me of why
you’re staying here?”

He looked up at the speaker
The wife of an in-keeper
Daughter of a farmer
Distinctively indistinct

But, she was a strong woman.
Her posture striking
Tempered by years of war
She had a hard face.

If you looked into her eyes
You could see a tinge of sorrow
If you stared into her smile you could glimpse
The souls that once had crossed her threshold

And If you searched her face
You could feel,
She had welcomed Death
Many more times then once.

“Hey! You listening!”
She asked him again,
“Why’re you here?”
He left no answer

“Fine,” she said
As she left out the room.
“If you want it,
Diner’s on the table.”

Behind her, leaning against the dresser
Stood his love and his aid
Perfectly balanced, like their maker
A pair of mismatched blades.

The shorter one, his favorite of the two,
Was, not only reverse-blade,
but forged from gray steel
With hilt and guard of silver filigree.

The first a sword of protection
The second of death.
A twin pair of strength and majesty
A tool of the hunted

Carefully wrapped in black silk,
Lay the second.
Made of ebony steel.
It was a killing sword.

This blade was long and thin.
Folded uncountable times
Sharpened at a diamond’s point.
No weakness. its crime

Surprisingly he had grown to like her
These past few days,
He was thankful
For her bluntness

He must move on.
Too long in one place
Brought danger to his door
Leave them too much time to trace

He felt sorry
For what he had to do,
But he had no choice
He had to cover his tracks.

He went down the stairs,
With him. his belongings

Alone at the table,
She looked up at him.
Across from her
Another place setting waited

He crossed the room and sat to eat.
The minutes slowly passed.
His eyes rose to meet the window
The sun had begun to set.

‘It’s time’ he thought, and stood with a sigh.
He reasoned to himself-
'it’s only her Who
I must pass this by'

He drew the longer blade,
The brilliance of the silver
Playing in the light of the setting sun.
And he spoke the words - “Forgive me.”

He shut the door on his way out
And she, she opened the door one last time.
Where Death was waiting.
He smiled

It was her last time.
Her last time:
For she opened the door
This time, to leave.