The Visit

The cold, wild wind swept
the landscape of my soul
sending ragged thoughts unkept
across the valley's bowl.

Leaning in against the storm,
asking to be carried away,
I never thought a bond to form
with a warrior that day.

Out of swirling mist she rode
and dismounted by my side,
"Don't let your will erode.
Don't disappear and hide."

Meeting eyes of crystal blue,
I shook my head and sighed,
"What ill wind sent you?
I've nothing left to try."

"Sit with me?" she asked,
gentle fingers on my arm.
"Yes," I said in a rasp
and went with no alarm.

"In this life I've fought
warlords, gods, and man.
You feel trapped and caught
at sea without a land."

"I gave in once to despair,
buried armor and sword,
knowing life beyond repair,
expecting the Styx to ford."

"I was shown a reason
to live and to battle on,
saved from doing treason
to a gift I thought gone."

"I put another before myself,
rescued a woman-child.
She took my soul off a shelf
and changed a life reviled."

"We do not face alone
all that the Fates decree.
I left a dark zone
and paid my guilt's fee."

"Put behind the past
and know it to be done.
And hold fast a friendly hand
When the demons do come."

For all the day's length
we sat together there.
I drew upon her strength
and knew a warrior's care.

She spoke to me of honor,
of faith, and of love.
When I tried to thank her
she gave a friendly shove.

Smiled a crooked grin,
and said she would be near,
"The answers lie within
though sometimes unclear."

"Know a warrior guards
and comes when there's a need.
And when life is hard,
live by the fighter's creed."

She clasped my hand
before she rode away,
gone to an Elysian land
beyond the break of day.

Now when I must remind
myself to move along,
I see a warrior kind,
and resolve to battle on.