Julian Cha

Can you see it?

Glancing over the horizon?

The parading party marching onward?

I can hear the rumble and feel the rush

I see the first members and I begin to blush.

Coming first, with the world behind,

Are the sovereign gods that rule their land.

They stand tall and strong with eternal might,

Unchallenged, and impossible to fight.

How could I ever imagine becoming one of their knights?

My skills are lacking, and I move with fright

So I just look at them, safe from afar, my eyes tethered like a kite.

But I hear their stories; the nightmares their souls had.

The atrocities they suffered, how their good hearts turned bad.

The vengeance they swore, the armor they clad.

Their careers over in an instant, the stories so sad.

But look upon them now,

Gods amongst men,

No one knows how,

Just how it ends.

I look and see and wish to be,

A champion of their realm, implanting myself like a tree.

But this choice is never up to me.

“Boy, you waste your time!

In the end, you’ll be left with no dime!

Like cutting grass,

A fruitless task,

The answer is no,

I will grant thee no pass!”

I joined their parade and never looked back

Just carrying with me a humble knapsack

I know I can do this, the impossible is just a word

My destiny is undeniable, I cut through doubt with my sword.

A grey beard I have, and I look back and see

The path I made in spite of thee

But to my heart’s fear, I should’ve listened to yee.

The path I made, the struggles I faced, it all ceased to be.

Gone in the wind, devoured by the brush,

My effort nothing, my castle crushed.

I invested it all thinking it was my everything,

But it was just my Kingdom of Nothing.