"The Boy" by Brian Buckley

The Boy

And there he sat, expression grim
The darkness as a cloak for him.
His eyes were ice that burned like flame
It seemed no earthly thing could tame.
And all about his enemies quailed
His armies marched, his black ships sailed.
From there he ruled, and all alone
He led his kingdom from his throne.
His fist was clenched, his hand was raised,
And from afar his anger blazed.
He sent destruction to his foes,
Mighty lord, the king of woes.
He was invincible, he thought;
That all his foes would come to naught.
And so he sat there, crowned and great,
Making plans of dreadful hate.

Then suddenly he heard a cry
And sensed his plans had gone awry.
His guards were vanquished one by one
And when this mighty deed was done
He heard a voice, loud and clear
That filled his servants all with fear.
"Come out!" it cried, "I want to fight
The one who conquers without right!"
His soldiers trembled, all afraid
But he himself, he was not swayed.
"I come!" he answered, full of might
And stepped out to the dark of night.

His challenger there he saw at last,
No mighty king from ages past.
But rather there a small, young lad
And in no armor was he clad.
He wore no crown nor rode a horse,
And seemed no power of any force.
A shining sword, an iron shield,
These were all he had to wield.

The dark lord when he saw him smiled
And set about to best the child.
He raised his sword and struck a blow
But it did not hit his foe.
He struck again; to his dismay
The boy merely danced away.
Again, again, again he struck
But still he had no better luck.
He tried to bring him to his knees;
The child evaded him with ease.
And ever as he fought the boy,
It seemed he laughed with simple joy.
And so they clashed, these two great powers,
The fighting lasted many hours.
But, at last, he was worn down.
The dark one fell upon the ground.
The boy leapt up, swift like a dart
And deftly struck him in the heart.
It was, in all, his only blow.
And doing this he turned to go.
But all the townsfolk bade him stay,
And said, "The king is cast away!
You've done it! You have proved the stronger!
Please, won't you stay a little longer?"
But he would not, he had to go
To find another dreadful foe.
And cast him down, onto the floor
Just as he'd always done before.