‘Twas a note I received that evenfall,
which led me to the battlefield one final time.

Love I thought long lost,
was found confined in a tower of sorrow and pain.

For an eternity I had suffered in solitude,
wanting her touch,
a touch I thought ne’er to feel again.

The squire stood ‘fore me in silence,
head held low in respect of the legacy,
not for nations inspired,
or peoples freed,
but for his place in the web of fate,
knowing his verse in the song of our fable.

With body dripping,
victim to twilight’s raging tempest,
and knee bent in honor of love,
he waited as I unraveled the cloth parchment.

Breath escaped me as the scribblings came to life,
dancing with my hope,
rekindling the fire I thought long extinguished.

The oft-spoken prayers of my heart were answered when boy finally whispered,
‘Tis true my lord.’

So I took to steed,
and rode throughout a morn and eve twice,
to the edge of lands,
beyond any man’s imagination,
the space betwixt heaven and hell.

I stood ‘pon the cliff,
and gazed upward.

The sky spread infinite above,
calling for me to take my place,
whilst the same words,
bellowed from the eternal darkness below.

I began removing my clothes,
tearing away every fragment of life past,
for on this journey,
a man must bear his soul bare.

‘Why master,
o lord,
Why must you go?’
the squire enquired.

‘Love,’
was all I could reply,
for words further,
would only waste a moment and a breath,
rather given to her.

And with that,
I took a step,
following her into the unknown,
a journey she started so long ago.

In that instance,
I laughed,
I cried,
I lived,
I died,
I loved,
I lost.

An eternity passed,
in the blink of my eye,
and when I once more reached solid ground,
I did so in a meadow of misfortune.

It took a moment,
for my breath to be caught,
for my strength to return,
and in that pause,
the longing of my heart for hers,
led my eye to her tower.

Once composed,
I began the final leg of my passage.

Each step came with it a challenge,
be it from angel or demon,
eventually I could tell the difference no longer.

The tower I soon reached,
and quickly I caught sight of her prison,
illuminated in the darkness,
by a brilliant star.

I marveled at her beauty,
even from a distance,
for no matter time,
or pain,
or suffering,
her luminescence still pierced the grim shroud,
and gave me the hope,
the vigor,
to continue on.

So I did,
starting my ascension with a first step,
and my fall from grace with a second.

The enigma would have confused my nous if it were leading me,
but it too was left ‘pon cliff’s edge.

The pull of her soul tugged my strings,
guiding my way,
to her once more.

After a multitude of steps,
one for each moment I ever longed for her,
I came ‘pon the threshold,
the final gateway to her warmth,
to her touch.

Time ceased,
as I pressed my weight against the ethereal curtain which kept me from her
piercing the thick veil of smoke and shadows.

My heart broke tho’
at the image ‘fore me.

My love,
my muse,
lay asleep,
naked as I,
trapped within with pains of her dreams.

I had vowed she would ne’er suffer,
yet here she lay on a bed of thorns and tears,
breathing the vapors of agony and despair.

I knew in an instant what must be done,
to free her from these walls,
to give her life,
and return her hope.

With no thought of hesitation,
I took a step forward.

My heart rose,
and with each pace I could feel her warmth grow stronger.

‘Pon reaching her side,
I leaned o’er,
and held my breath.

I watched her sleep,
so I could forge a memory,
an image etched within my soul,
ne’er to be pillaged,
to last me through infinity.

With but a moment more,
‘fore my soul was soon to be claimed,
I leaned in,
placed my lips ‘pon hers,
and with a kiss,
gave her my final gust of life.

In that wink,
her eyes opened wide,
and our gazes locked.

She received my love in full remembrance,
feeling every moment I longed for her,
hearing every prayer.

With my last feat of strength,
I pulled her from the shackles of her torment,
and placed them ‘pon me,
Taking all her pain,
receiving all her anguish,
freeing her soul,
with my ain.

And for her love,
for her life,
for an eternity,
as promised long ago,
as pledged by star’s light,
to protect her fore’er ‘fore myself,
I exchanged my freedom for her own,
and shackled my soul in her stead,
in this tower of purgatory.

‘Live free my love,
and in your thoughts,
your dreams,
your prayers,
think of me,
for I shall’nt e’er forget you.’