The traveler swayed from side to side His bounty slung heavy on his shoulder His shadow long and eastward strewn An ambiguous gait and pallor
His toes dragging to a straight-legged stomp His head heavy in thought and thirst He uncaps his flask to wet his mouth Almost falling to the ground face first
His journey is long and his pace is quick For a while he rests on a stone He sets down his bag of merchandise Unaware he’s no longer alone
A rustle in the bushes alerts his attention He stiffens and draws his blade An attack from the forest—a black hooded rogue A battle for his life is waged
He dodges an arrow and avoids a knife He lunges with his faithful steel Slicing through air he draws first blood And snickers with a menacing leer
A powerful kick sends him back This carnage will end in the mud A thunderous jump—ribs snap in their cage Gasping through grimace and blood
His pace was quick but not quick enough To escape from his earthly fate For smite rained down like heaven’s hammer And punished his life of hate
This ambush was long ago forecast When his soul morphed into black At first only slightly but then almost nightly As he engorged his poisoned sack
Madness enveloped his meager soul And gnarled evil on his face The trophies he stole in a heap of haste Stirred dangerous men to give chase
Now he gasped through spit and blood Finally paying his overdue arrears Falling from his clasp to the ground in a mess Were hundreds of severed ears