Chivalric Romance

one glance forward, and no glance back
fierce eyes on a wintry heart: this preserved flame—
timid in nature, refractory in practice, has served me well

by locking horns without moving, sparring without speaking
or raising a hand, nor lance, it plays with its power,
laying its cards face-down and locking eyes with the dealer.

this is satisfaction: no matter the outcome, here it was made;
a life or death well earned by chance; what are you
if not your failures? this is repentance:

hollow reprisal, death and rebirth, nothing more to lose
memorial photographs denied their audience. you should
question your importance with each beginning and end,

repeat your mistakes until they lose their meaning,
find the boundaries of infinite equations; subject yourself
to my surgical tools, my volatile geometry, my every command
you are nothing if you are not on your knees

Mar. 10, 2024