Poem: "Raising the Hero"

[ysabetwordsmith]

Here is the first of the poems sponsored from today's fishbowl, prompted by minor_architect & jolantru and sponsored by minor_architect. This one is a free-verse epic, about a sword intended to redeem someone -- not a sword for a hero, but a sword for making a hero out of a villain.

Raising the Hero

I see you standing there,
hesitating at the arch.
Come in, come in –
there is no one here
but the two of us.
Take the first step toward your future,
as you came here to do.

Did you think I would not notice?
Did you think I could not see?
Come closer, lad,
and look at me –
these two chrysoberyls in my quillions
give vision.

I have seen you long since.
I have been watching you.
I have seen you press the torch to the thatch
and raid by the light of its flames.
I have seen you steal jam from the kitchen
and gems from the smashed chest.
I have seen you put that wicked little knife
into fleeing backs and laugh.
Come now, don’t blush for shame –
the past is past.

The evil deeds you have done
weigh on your soul like stones.
Come into the light of this holy place
and set them aside.
I know, I know –
they are heavy things,
and you do not wish to be seen
in all your darkness.
Let me tell you,
there is a place in your soul
that will shine if only you let it.
Just take the next step.
Come into the light.

Do not demur –
Do not try to deny me,
saying that you are no hero
and not fit for a sword like myself.
I know what you are,
and what you are not,
and what you could become.
It is my nature to know these things,
to know your nature
better than you know yourself.
Come to me,
and I will show you
how to be a hero.

I was not made
for the white hand untouched by blood.
I was not made
for the swan-souled saints.
I was not made
for paladins gilded with pride and purity.
Come here,
and I will tell you the truth of it:
I was made
for such as yourself,
for the hand red with blood and weary of it,
for the heart to bring light out of darkness –
for only you have the strength
to do what must be done.

You are so close.
Come on, touch me
and know that I speak the truth.
Feel how my hilt fits your hand,
how your heart fills with hope
when you look at the light
sliding down the length of my blade.
See how my stone eyes shine for you –
envision all that lies ahead.

Come, raise me up
and I will do the same for you.