" HER STRENGTH " the winter warrior...

Ignoring the fallen, savage, huntsmen,she heaved erect, tottered, and limped into motion
Forever it seemed, she went on that way, jerking her broken ankle, mindful of the potion
She continually fell, her memory fighting back, she was using two hunks of ice for feet
She could not keep her balance when the hillsides became much too steep
But after each fall she rested prone in the snow, but she would not stop, the potion
It had to be delivered to the women of the Queendom, to avert catastrophe, and suffering
She staggered, crawled, forward once more, had unshakeable faith in what she's doing
As the day waned into afternoon her falls became more and more frequent
She recalled the orders of the Queen, "Brave warrior,you shall keep this a secret!"
And suddenly the blood in her veins began to pulse, an enemy was near,
She unsheathed her sword, aware that her feet would not function here
A highland savage sprung forth at her, and using the ice on her feet, she spun
A poetic move, and in a swift, slicing motion, it was over before it had begun
She stripped the headless savage, wrapping his furs around her feet
Some obdurate capacity for endurance drove her, she had a goal to meet
By degrees she began to believe in herself, crossing the snow covered plain
The spires of her kingdom (she spat blood) seemed just a few miles away 
She crawled along, the path of least resistance, the throbbing pain reminding her
The Potion must be delivered, to save catastrophe and the many lives of her sisters
Scratching and crawling her way to the goal she began hallucinating silent dreams
A Goddess of Light came to her in a vision and screamed "Get to your ragged feet!"
Somehow she found the strength to stand, leaning on her sword she lurched
And as she reached the Gates of home the bells rang from soldiers perched
In turrets above the Queendom, she fell to her knees with feet bleeding and bound
The Potion was brought to the on-rushing warriors, her feet were drawing her down
"Her Strength" became Legendary, and her story became the stuff of song.....

Tony Taylor  (Chicago)

 

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