The Knight (a positive poem)

[volution]

Here is one of my positive poems from earlier this year... Quite long though... Dante is quaking in his boots...

 

The Knight

 

His only armour, was love.

His only shield, bravery.

Many battles, had the knight

Endured - each time, fortune

Did not favour him.

 

A pen was his sole weapon,

For he knew how mighty this

Was - the power of words, he

Believed, would vanquish

Any foe.

 

Few knew the darkness that

The knight had fought.

Few knew, too, the darkness of

The knight, the darkness, that

Consumed him, even in the day.

 

A crusade, that had begun,

Many years ago - throughout

Many distant lands, the knight

Had followed an honest quest,

A chivalrous quest, of love.

 

To find a gentle maiden,

And enchant her with tales

Of love and ecstasy, long

Gone since distant times;

To be her lifelong devotee.

 

With such sweet hope, did

He set out on his journey.

A fire burning in his heart,

A light shining in his soul,

Surely nothing could defeat him?

 

The knight didn't know how

Long and hard his quest would

Turn out to be.

He thought, his words, and his

Honest heart would be enough...

 

Little did he bargain with the

Forces of darkness, that so

Easily chase those of a gentle

Nature - to dissuade them from

Their quest.

 

The darkness, of loneliness -

At any time, it can descend on

The souls of the honest.

It's cruel face is never shown,

Only ever heard, by the sound of silence.

 

Utterly alone, not even a saddle to

Carry him onward, he walked for miles,

Miles upon miles, over uncertain terrains.

He had nothing to his name, no currency,

No possessions, all that he had, were his words.

 

After many years of searching,

And seeking, the knight was

So tired, tired of the battles,

Tired of the knightmares, tired

Of everything.

 

For each time, he had found

A maiden, he pursued her with

All his heart - he laid down his

Shield, and began to fight for

Her affections - with his words.

 

Noble words, honest words, deep

Words, kind words, soft words.

But all the worlds in the words

He gave, and all the words in the

World were not enough.

 

For his maidens did not see,

Nor feel the things he so bravely

Scribed...

...nor did they care that each

Time his words were lost, a part of him died.

 

And then so came the darkness -

Loneliness, despair, fear,

Melancholy - each a separate

Battle, that a whole army

Would be hard-pressed to defeat.

 

Each time, he would have to hold

His shield, so heavy, sometimes too

Much to bear, and at those times

The darkness managed to penetrate

His armour of love, wounding him deep.

 

Many months, it took, to parry the

Crushing blows of the darkness.

Each time, the armour of the knight,

Was in ruins - he wondered if ever

It would be mended.

 

The knight often wondered, if he

Should turn back - and go home;

Yet, he had no home, for the only

Home he knew, was at the side of

A fair maiden.

 

But how long, could he endure,

This inquisition - might not he

Pay the ultimate price, before long?

Might his mighty pen be forever

Stubbed - and his words flow no more?

 

Yet, somehow, the knight held on,

Sometimes with such a fine tread

Between defeat and death, for the

Latter often follows the former;

Though no-one would ever pride his feat.

 

To the world, he was expected to

Keep his face, full of bravery.

But beneath his dissembled facade,

He cried oceans of acid tears, burning

His soul and heart with a cold fire.

 

No longer did he want to have to be brave.

But his siren's call was too enticing

To ignore - the touch, the smell, the embrace

Of a maiden, was his raison d'être - he lived

To fulfil his quest of love.

 

He was tired of courting after false calls,

Finding soft maidens, that seemed to

Harbour such love, such wonder, such life -

Yet his brave words, weren't wanted,

And again and again, his unrequited heart pined.

 

The time came, when his heart had been

Mortally wounded - for the first time in

His life, he had laid down his shield,

Out of hope; and he had divested his

Armour - giving it to his maiden...

 

He believed, the darkness was finally

Vanquished - that no longer he would

Have to battle against any cruel forces,

He was with his maiden, and at last,

Home...

 

His words were wanted, his tender stories

Loved; and the maiden and the knight were

Joined in body and heart.

Betwinement, and a new life, danced on the

Horizon...

 

But something was terribly wrong.

One day, he awoke, to find his maiden, gone.

A heavy foreboding settled upon his heart once

More - at first disbelief sparked through his

Mind, but then the darkness echoed in the distance.

 

Disbelief turned into anger, and anger into shock.

His heart, was totally uncovered, totally naked.

For his armour was gone, and his shield discarded.

The darkness all but took control of his mind,

And his being, his heart, and his soul...

 

Inconsolable, the knight found himself close

To death.

Unspeakably abandoned, without his armour,

Without his shield, he no longer could find

Any words within him.

 

Months passed by, his eyes almost blackened

By the darkness that had taken almost entire

Control of him - he could hardly see the

Crazy tracks he left - circles of madness,

In the dust of the earth.

 

But by the power of a sure miracle,

He still breathed - shallowly, but surely.

And in the distance, an echo called out

To him - at first, he couldn't

Believe it - he thought he was going mad.

 

Yet, mysteriously, an essense stirred with

A special resonance within him.

Weary, with the tiredness of false hope,

He couldn't quite hear what the echo

Was saying to him.

 

Some weeks elapsed, and gradually, the

Voice grew louder - he could hear it

Calling out, a familiar song, one

That he used to sing, a long time ago.

Could it be real, still he wondered.

 

Then a relief came - the darkness started

To magically melt away from his poisoned

Soul - though in his mind, doubts still

Played an infernal counterpoint to the

Hopes he started to envisage.

 

In the distance, he saw a bridge, fading in

And out of reality, like a mirage.

Legends and fables, that he learned of,

Many years ago, when still he was growing -

They spoke to him of such a bridge...

 

A bridge accross forever - a bridge that

Only ever materialises once in a lifetime,

And leads to a land of unbridled joy and love,

Where shields and armour are no longer needed,

Where time and space, vanish, and pain ceases.

 

From the other side of that bridge, that's

Where the voice was coming from.

A tender, soft voice, singing a beautiful

Song - he could hardly believe his ears,

It seemed like it couldn't be real.

 

The bridge was still a few days to reach,

Though he could see it - such was the shining

Brightness of it's form, and he could hear

That song - such was the crystal purity

Of it's melody.

 

But, he could not help but be drawn,

Almost in a daze - he thought perhaps it

Was the Lorelei - such was the beauty of

It's promise, and such was the transcendence

Of it's nature.

 

As he came closer, he could see a beautiful

Bright haze on the other side, and a tender,

Soft hand reached out from the haze, earnestly

Awaiting a reply.

But the knight started to tremble...

 

He didn't understand, he couldn't understand,

He did understand, but he couldn't comprehend.

How was this all happening?

He remembered all the battles, all the words,

All the dreams, all the hopes in his life.

 

He wanted to feel afraid - because he thought

He had been here before.

If he walked on to this bridge, then his life

Would change forever - if he took the hand

That beckoned, he would not be able to turn back...

 

He had been here before, but only in his dreams.

Dreams, long ago, of a beautiful maiden, long

Had he forgotten what they meant, and that

One day they might come true.

It was almost as if his destiny was already cast.

 

The brave knight came to the edge of the bridge,

Enchanted by the warmth coming from the haze.

Still, in his mind, a few natural anxieties

Spoke, trying to grab attention from his heart.

But, he didn't want to listen to them anymore...

 

Nervously lifting his right leg, he placed his

Foot onto the bridge, wondering, if this is

The moment he had waited for all his life.

He took a look back, at the path that had led

Him here - a long, lonely, painful path.

 

But he realised, perhaps, this was the only

Way for him to get here.

He faced forward, and looked into the haze,

Walking forward slowly - he approached the

Hand...

 

This was it, his last chance, if he

Wanted to turn back now, he had to turn

Around and run as fast as he could.

But, he couldn't, he didn't want to,

He walked forward, and reached out for the hand...

 

In an instant, the haze enveloped him,

The dull tones of the world slipped away,

And he found himself in a heavenly warmth.

The song began to fill every part of his being,

Every cell of his soul...

 

The knight felt the weariness of the past

Fall away, and he felt as if he were floating.

The haze pulsated, and a form materialised

In front of him - slowly, the outline

Of a beautiful maiden began to appear.

 

He could feel nothing but love, coming

From the maiden.

She took his other hand and drew him

Into a beautiful embrace, and a tender kiss.

All at once, he knew, truly, finally, he was home...

[Reilly2856]

Wow, that's an amazing poem. I didn't even realize it was long...grabs the reader right off the bat with the beautiful imagery and words. Great Job. Look forward to reading more in the future.