Black

A smile played upon my lips.

The tablet in the chieftain’s hand

Held my name upon its face.

Today I was the chosen one

To take food to the demon.

To his cave of black and bones     

Wherefrom none ever returned .

Endless lines of carts filled with meat

Grain and fruit far as the eye could see

It would feed him for the year

He would let the village live in peace

For centuries the pact had held

A year's food , oxen and a man we'd send

To satisfy his craving for fresh meat

I said my last goodbyes,

Many tears many cried

Many blessed but not one prayed

For those who went never came again.

No weapon we were allowed

Least we stir the demon's wrath

And bring destruction upon us all.

But I was never one to go down

Without a bloody fight.

I'd built my own cart,

Poisoned sword and blades

Hidden out of sight.

I would kill him

Take him by surprise.

Crack of a whip, I was on my way.

Four days to journey, I took one less.

Slumbering I would catch the beast.

And put an end to his misery.

Abandoned the carts, as they carried on.         

Mile deep into his realm

He'd laid a trap, just as I’d thought

A fiery hammer crushed my cart

As the caravan stopped in the narrow path

The oxen panicked but they were stuck

A minion came out from the muck

To check the damage he had wrecked 

I made short work of him with my blade

He was dead before he could wail

My heart in my mouth, I entered the cave

My years of training all for this day

He would never rear his ugly head again

A shock greeted me as I entered the cave

The demon was stuffed, and hung from a nail

A book upon a table then disclosed

The minion had been the demon for fifty years.

The man from my village I’d just slain

Had lived my moment when he was my age

I closed my eyes in pained relief

The demon was gone, or was he?

I heaved the hammer back into the wall

A year before it would once more fall

A smile played upon my lips,

As I inspected my new place.