Mortal

I, an ancient forceGrim fate in ghastly formKnow not of remorseMy presence feared, like a stormBut today, my heart did warm
Today, he was thereHe, the Lord's eternal slaveHe with snow white hairHis face falteringly braveAs he knelt before her grave
Marred with scars of burnNothing I’d not seen beforeOnly just returnedSurvivor of Hellish warStill my shade darkens his door
“When?” he deigned to askI approached, slowly walking“Just two fortnights past.”He felt that I’d been stalkingAnd lured me into talking
“She knew my touch, death“And no more she could delay.“She breathed her last breath“Her last exhale spent to say“Just one word, and passed away.”
“I thought so, reaper.“The moment I crossed the sea“You sought to keep her.“Now her spirit, held by thee“You use to barter with me.”
I knew what he meantThe cat and mouse game of chaseAll my patience spentOn this man who’d won the raceOne I never could debase
He’d not fight for lifeHe instead chose to parley“If you save my wife“I swear on this grave today“My soul, I shall trade away.”
He asked nothing newNothing I’d not heard beforeNothing I would do“A live corpse, we’d both abhor.“Your wife shall rest evermore.”
He stood from the plot“Again, this is what you do?“My first, left to rot.“My second, her heart run through“By a blade thrust forth by you.
“How long must it be?“One hundred? One thousand years?“When will I be free?“Forced not to shed mourning tears“For bride whose death ever nears?”
“We are not like them.“Our hearts beat not as theirs did.“We’ve no requiem“No way for our lives to rid.“Our demise, the Lord forbids.”
"You lie, horrid one.“God has given you a way“To cease what’s been done.“This immortal you can slay.“Give my soul to her today.
“No one else can do.“This gift only you possess.“You know my words true.“I beg of you, without duress“Cut free the Lord’s tangled mess.”
He knew my powerNothing I’d not known beforeHis wilted flowerI could save, her life restoreAnd give her his shining core
I would tell him ‘No’As I’d done centuries pastAnd away he’d goEver-longer life would lastEver-darker shadow cast
But I could not swayHe’d not take knee, nor head bowHis fire blazed todayBright before, but brightest nowHe would not forsake his vow
His strength staggered meSomething I’d not felt beforeSo it came to beFor my grasp he had imploredAnd I warned what was in store
“Know the consequence.“Your soul, she can never sell“And forever hence“Holy Lord shall know it well“His prized angel falls to Hell.
He took time for thought“I have just one last request.”I knew what he sought“With her breath from falling chest“Her last word, in life, was ‘Rest’.
“A request perhaps.“A command of you and I”‘Fore her life elapsed“She may wish for you to fly“And I, in the shadows, lie.”
Silenced for a timeHe considered what to sayLocked his eyes with mineBowed his head, as if to praySpread his wings, and flew away
Now, I sit and writeAlone with her in this glenLong into the nightThinking of my angel friendAnd if e’er our lives will end
Category:Beings
Category:Poetry
Category:TheWizardOfTheWoods