This is the end

"This is the end!", growled the monster on the road,
Breathing fire with its head half-bowed,
The vehement eyes made it extremely clear,
that the path ahead would be laden with fear.
That should I go where no one has gone,
I would never bathe in the crisp of the dawn,
That should I try to redeem my soul,
I would char, black as coal,
That should I choose to pick up my fallen grit,
my purpose would be shunned into a bottomless pit,
That should I, till the end, stubbornly endure,
I would fall, bruise, and perish unsecure.

"Choose not this path, why, this is the end,
There is no mercy beyond the bend,
Rotten bones on a dried up land,
Countless like the grains of sand.
Not many try and very few succeed,
Reaching your throne is no ordinary feat,
The men who dreamt of glory and gold,
In face of my trial, were never so bold.
Be warned!" roared the monster, "away you go!
to a life of order, ignorance, and glow,
I am the sweltering heat and the sinking snow,
I humour not, be wary of the impending woe."

I stood at the gate, daunted by the beast,
that had in its belly a splendid feast,
of all the qualities that I needed to thrive,
on the trail of adventure, wisdom, and drive.
There was only one definite way out,
claimed the past heroes without a doubt,
"Slay the demon and claim your prize,
relish the feast and like a phoenix you shall rise."
I looked up at the beast, quivering yet strong,
Said loudly, "I want no gold, no glory, no song;
But I must, if nothing, try my might,
while I am an explorer, a thinker, a beacon of light."

"So you choose solitude, admonition, and unease",
hollered the demon, its lips in a deathly crease,
"I am the guardian of the untrodden and unknown,
You shall, for this foolishness, atone."

I breathe in deep and draw out my sword,
I face the steely claws of stone,
"You haven't known a woman's valor", I cry,
"This is her fight, there is only do, no die."

aeroyogi
3/4/2017