"Journey´s End" by Brian Buckley

Journey's End

Her mission, it was simple
The entrance, in plain sight
A doorway of gray stonework
Surrounded by the night.
She stepped into the dungeon
A cloak around her frame
While choruses of crickets
Sang mockeries of fame.
She pulled her cape around her
And slipped into the black
With fear arrayed before her
And comfort at her back.
Her husband had been taken
A prisoner of war
Held captive by a wizard
Who lay beyond the door.
His cave was deep and murky
And treacherous at best
With halls of dank confusion
To complicate her quest.
But filled with resolution
She entered the abyss
Her soul, determination
To feel her lover's kiss.
She fought the wizard's minions
With brilliant steel sword
Eluded all his pitfalls
Around her, fires roared.
Above her, danger fluttered
Below her feet, the dark
Her blade shone in the blackness
A tiny orange spark.
He sent out evil creatures
To line her path with lies
But none of their deceptions
Could fool her faithful eyes.
The light of day had withered
But still she plodded on
Without even the moonlight
To herald crack of dawn.
As weeks passed, she went deeper
Beneath the icy ground
With all but hope abandoned
Of light or blissful sound.
And then, at once, she found it
A simple wooden door
Identical to others
That she had seen before.
But somehow, it was different
This tiny wooden gate
Her pale fingers trembled
But not with fear or hate.
She shivered with elation
And strode into the room
To face her bitter rival
And meet her final doom.
The sorcerer was waiting
He had no words to say
And so she merely followed
While he showed her the way.
She had no room for hatred
No wish to fight her foe
No strength had she for anger
With one room left to go.
He led her to his chamber
Her love there, on the ground
His arms and wrists were shackled
His legs and ankles bound.
She fell upon her husband
And tried her herbs and charms
But for all this, his body
Was lifeless in her arms.
Her trip was all for nothing
Her efforts all in vain
In place of sweet perfection
A clammy shaft of pain.
Her greatest love had perished
The dungeon was a stage
Her journey was all played out
And nothing left but rage.
Her cries rang out to Heaven
Her screaming pierced the sky
Her hate for life much greater
Than simple will to die.
She whirled on the wizard
Her eyes alight with flame
The earth's foundations shattered
In everlasting shame.
Her hands were red with fire
Her only love had died
The tears that streaked her visage
Were passion liquefied.
The stars rang out her anger
And beat upon the earth
Her hatred for him flickered
Then rose in white rebirth.
Her words were bolts of lighting
That crackled overhead
One thought, too strong for speaking:
My husband, he is dead.
From all the highest mountains
To all the deepest seas
Her words rose up like angels
And stung the air like bees.
In maelstrom of fervor
Her heart's quick fire broke
Her mind and soul were shattered
And roared away in smoke.
And when the dust was settled
Her heart no longer beat
Her husband lay above her
The wizard, at her feet.