By: Luria Posted on: September 29, 2007
(Often as we wander Sapience, we come upon villages and communities of people
not unlike ourselves. Men and women, denizens all, bustling from place to place
laden with packages, or going about their daily tasks. Seldom do we stop to
wonder what their lives are like when we are not there to watch. Who are these
people? What are their hopes and dreams? Do they have families? How do they get
along together? This poem centers on the lives of the villagers of Ka'doloki - a
hidden tropical paradise that few ever see.)
The sun bleached bones of many ships
Lie broken here on golden sands.
A silent graveyard without crypts,
It hides the lovely coral strand.
Bright colors: purple, pink and green
Displayed for the delighted eye.
Anemones lie in between
Carpeting path beneath the sky.
A bridge 'twixt here and yesterday,
Trod only by intrepid souls,
To where a sleepy village lay.
A simple life, its people's goal.
The day was crisp and cool and clear,
The sea, a sparkling sapphire gem,
The tiny village, full of cheer;
They knew not what awaited them.
Sweet Yuli is a maiden fair.
Her eyes flash like the stormy sea.
With nut brown skin and curly hair,
Her laughter always bubbling free.
Jala was her very best friend,
With golden mane and cornflow'r eyes.
'Twas Jala gather'd blooms to send
To Yuli who used them in dyes.
Yuli had a very fine shop.
She sold small trinkets, food and drink.
Salyn the warrior had to stop
To refill his canteen and wink.
Bold Salyn was a young girl's dream,
With iron thews and sun-bronzed skin.
In fighting skills he was supreme.
He strode the village with a grin.
Fair Jala longed to be his bride,
And oft times planned to be in sight.
Near Salyn's path she did abide,
His every breath was her delight.
A little brother Jala had,
who followed close on Salyn's trail.
A wooden sword, he made the lad
Who practiced fighting without fail.
The boy would go down to the beach.
The crabs he smote with wooden sword.
Renu the fisher paid for each
And kept them as bait in a gourd.
'Twas Jala's task to tend the lad
For he was small and apt to stray.
She mostly did as she was asked
Except upon this fateful day.
For Jala had a plan in mind,
Bold Salyn she had hopes to snare.
She left her brother far behind
And climbed the cliffs to ponder there.
With shells and blossoms on a string
Of vines while humming cheerfully,
She wrought a necklace fit for kings,
Not caring where the boy might be.
Through sultry skies a piercing scream
Found fit to mar the afternoon.
A clarion call to arms it seemed
To echo like the cry of loon.
"My brother!" Jala cried and ran
Down rocky trail to sandy shore.
"Oh Salyn save him, if you can!
From duty I will stray no more."
Old Nhamdi sounded the alarm;
Upon a mighty conch he blew
"Alert! Alert! Fear! Fire! Foes! Harm!"
Concern within the village grew.
The villagers ran to the beach.
A horrid sight met every eye;
The boy lay pale and out of reach
In monster's claw neath cheerless sky.
His wooden sword, cloven in two!
His limbs lay bent at angles strange.
The King crab's shell of scarlet hue,
Cast ruddy glow o'er all in range.
Bold Salyn gave a fearsome shout;
Drew valiant sword to meet the foe.
The King crab turned itself about
And menacingly struck a blow.
The crimson carapace did flash,
As claw reached out to draw first blood;
But Salyn smote with wicked slash,
And snapping limb lay in the mud.
But still crustacean came on quick;
Attached a claw to Salyn's arm
And CRACK! the bone snapped like a stick.
The blood flowed red to his alarm.
The warrior swayed with swift weakness
His mighty sword he changed to left
His eyes burned red with righteousness
Though actions now were less than deft
Onward he came! His mighty blade
Fell heavily on hard-shelled head.
"Pentharian, guide my hand!" he prayed;
With crushing blow, the crab lay dead.
"My Hero!" Jala cried and fell
Full at his feet, most worshipf'ly.
"Accept this gift! I beg you well.
And I, your loving wife will be!"
The necklace now she offered him;
Her work well done by loving hand
Each shell and flow'r that graced the rim,
Wrought with care to form the band.
Old Nhamdi mended well the lad,
And turned to Salyn's injuries.
The villagers, expressions glad,
Watched the soft moment eagerly.
Bold Salyn, his expression stern,
Gazed down upon the dainty lass.
His eyes did soften in concern,
For it would never come to pass.
He slowly helped her to her feet,
His hand reached to caress her hair.
"Fair Jala, it would not be meet
For us to ever make a pair."
"I follow Lord Pentharian,
And duty ever is my creed;
While you forsook your kith and clan
Ignoring well your brother's need."
"For marriage is a solemn vow,
Requiring a steadfast way
That both together tread and grow,
In trust and honour day by day."
As Jala listened to his rede,
Her heart fell with her saddened tears;
Her future looking bleak indeed
Stretching to lonely, empty years.
Yet as she pondered, straight she stood,
Her eye, it gleamed most resolute
Determined now to follow good
And frivolousness to refute
Perhaps her man she'd never tend,
But Jala learned her lesson well.
Her carelessness was at an end
The future? Only time will tell.