• Ballad of The Sand Runner

    I lived in a land,
    Constantly basking in the glory of the sun,
    In that land I grew,
    And all it’s sands I knew,
    For they were far and wide,
    Coming and going, like the ocean’s tide,
    In this land I grew,
    Neither father, nor mother did I knew,
    With the jackals I ran,
    With the nomads I stand.

    One day, at noon,
    I laid sight on a foreign boon,
    Animals, that should run free,
    Were pulling wagons three,
    There were figures, twenty at least,
    But neither was a nomad, nor a beast,
    They were wearing garbs, and clothes,
    Colorful like rainbows,
    Curious I ran forward,
    Chains that bound slaves, almost a hundred,
    Upon them I recognized many,
    My friends were harmed plenty.

    That night was dark at first,
    But for the outlanders it the worst,
    When the moon was dim,
    I snuck in, not moving even a brim,
    My knife was keen,
    Their guts it cut and got to their spleens,
    My friends had come,
    Beasts of the desert to the last one,
    Before the sun had risen,
    Every last outsider was defeated,
    The nomads were freed,
    The jackals were left to feed.

    That night in my tent amongst the sand,
    Came an old friend,
    His was called Daekar,
    He was the clan’s bow maker,
    He told me that I had saved his son,
    So in return he would give me a weapon,
    His gift was the first I’d seen of its kind,
    He called it a crossbow,
    But why I did not know,
    When I took it in my hands I almost fell,
    It was light, but with its giant size how could I tell?

    For year I ran amongst the sand,
    Before I saw another caravan,
    But, comparing this one to the last, alas,
    Was like comparing an ox to a lass,
    Twenty wagons,
    Each bearing the mark of two dragons,
    Men there were plenty,
    Much more than twenty,
    At first my path did not seem longer,
    But alas, I ran out of water,
    I waited till night,
    Then approached their camp with footsteps light,
    I took what a needed, and had just turned away,
    When my gaze was glued there to stay,
    Near their fire was dancing a female slave,
    And her vision almost led me to my grave,
    I turned around and ran away,
    But for hours later, I wished the right to stay,
    Her beauty, her charm and her grace,
    Her flawless skin, her beautiful face,
    They didn’t leave my mind on their own,
    So strongly to her I was drawn.

    The next day a group of my torturers broke off from the rest,
    Probably they wanted to hunt, but for me that was best,
    They never returned, of that I made sure,
    I thought of that, as I watched one’s eye being eaten by a vulture,
    For weeks I continued hunting my prey,
    Till finally, they could not stay,
    They probably thought that it was a curse,
    But at that time I was worse,
    They left the wagons, and the slaves,
    Thinking that they will find their own graves,
    Them I freed and stood before my maiden,
    Till I realized that compared to her I was a savage godforsaken,
    She could not run amongst the sand,
    And she would surely die in my land,
    So I turned around, and again ran away,
    By me was not her place to stay.

    For years I wondered, amongst blessed sand,
    Till I reached the end of my land,
    But I did not stop,
    I entered a city, with many a shop,
    There were gowns, and trinkets and more,
    My heart grew painful and sore,
    Why was I not born here?
    Not there,
    Here where my maiden would fit,
    Not amongst the desert’s sands and the slaver’s whip,
    And then I saw her, sitting in a throne,
    I looked beside her, and my heart turned to stone,
    Beside her was sitting a man, or a toad? ,
    I couldn’t tell, but suddenly I craved,
    His blood.

    I snuck in the castle, for many a night,
    Skillfully evading guard’s sight,
    I watched her, again and again,
    But my attempts to contact her were all in vain,
    On night, when the moon was full,
    I was looking through her window – large plentiful,
    I shifted my gaze,
    And was blinded by rage,
    Her husband, the king,
    Was all alone, and my vision wasn’t dim,
    I took out a bolt, and gave it a shot,
    And the fat king’s head sunk in the pond like a giant greasy boat,
    But a guard saw me, and how the king fell,
    And they would surely throw me in the deepest, darkest cell.

    From that city I ran,
    Until I reached my blessed land,
    I found my old tent,
    But my heart was bent,
    I was forever forbidden to see my love,
    As she lived in her jeweled abode,

    I lay down my quill – I gave it my best,
    That was the gods decision, and I’ll make the rest,
    As I run amongst the sand,
    Of my blessed land.