Epic Poem: The Lonely One

Something a little different

A change of pace from my normal speculative fiction stories: an epic poem, written in the customary style of the planet the action takes place on. And a cautionary tale to boot.

I don’t normally write to prompts, but I did this time. This one is my response to Power Up Prompt #34 by Bradley Ramsey.

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The Lonely One

So strange to you, this world, and yet
They knew no other way.
For every hatchling had a mate
And bound in life, and bound in fate
They stayed entwined until the date
T’was time to end their stay.

These things all children knew as truths
As firm as sun above.
That hea’en and earth knew not the spell
That’s strong enough to e’er dispel
Destroy, dissolve, dilute or quell
The bond of hatchling love.

For fair Linara’d willed it so
Before she turned to stone
The day the sun its face did hide
The day her cherished lover died
She raised her voice to hea’en and cried
That none shall be alone.

And so for eons and they thought,
For ev’ry eon hence
The cycle would remain in place
And every member of their race
Would have a mirror’d mind and face
T’was nought but common sense.

Until the day a luckless child
was born without a twin.
A malformed hatchling so despised
His guardians had thought it wise
To hide him from all watchful eyes:
His very life, a sin.

His childhood was a vale of tears.
His face knew ne’er a smile.
His heart was heavy as the stone
That stood in place of flesh and bone
Of fair Linara, on her home
On far-off Forlorn Isle.

In time this child, this blameless boy
Grew up to be a man.
Harsh fate upon him had bestow’d
A solitude that none could know
And hopes that he to none could show
For none would understand.

Until at last the day did come
That he would cry, “No more!”
To seeking answers none would give
And, vowing he’d no longer live
With grief that knew no sedative
This oath he boldly swore:

That he would find the reason that
His soul alone must face
A life so bleak and desolate
Devoid of hope, disconsolate
Without a friend or intimate
Abandoned by his race.

And thus resolved, he set to sail
For Forlorn Island’s shore
To see the goddess there in stone
And ask that heartless, long-dead crone
Why he alone must walk alone
Unmatched for evermore.

In time, at last, he found the place
Linara’s statue dwelt.
As cold as marble, ten feet tall
She stood impassive, so that all
Would feel her loss, and grief, and pall
As they before her knelt.

And so our hero knelt there too
And on her visage gazed.
But as he looked into her eyes
And to his wonder and surprise
The goddess did defossilise
As he knelt there amazed.

For she had seen his eyes and spied
The eyes of her betrothed.
The one that fate so cruelly stole
A matchless face, a matchless soul
And now he stood before her whole
In rags and tatters clothed.

So you might think dear reader, that
Their lives from there were charmed.
That two lost souls had found their match
And from despair, they joy would snatch
But — cruel fate! — there was a catch:
Our hero was alarmed!

For he knew nothing of the man
Linara longed to find.
And he cared for her not a whit
The puzzle pieces did not fit
If he’d a match, she was not it 
But she had set her mind.

For goddesses are stubborn folk.
And so she did decide
That they would wed; it was her will
And to this day they’re wedded still
With her content, he unfulfilled
And wishing he could die.

For she was not a gentle wife
But proud and willful she.
His time’s now spent in doing chores
Like cleaning windows, mopping floors
And serving cake to gods — those bores!
When e’er they come for tea.

We’re near the end, dear reader, but
I have one more surprise.
The lonely one, you see, is me
Enslaved for all eternity
Because a goddess chose to see
In mine, a dead man’s eyes.

So if you’re lonely, don’t despair
Don’t rail at life’s caprice.
Some things are worse than solitude:
Who needs a mate that’s mean and rude?
Just count your blessings, dame or dude
At least you get some peace.