I Am the One

by Artemesia-Eyfane

I am the one who calls myself a shinobi until the last breath escapes my lips. A short poem on shinobi life.

I Am the One

I Am the One

I am the one that lurks around the corner,
Waiting and watching for the opportune moment.

I am the one with the mask, both literally,
And figuratively.

I am the one with the stony gaze,
The kind that freezes you on contact.

I am the one that hides in the shadows.
They are my refuge, and my weapon.

I am the one that chills the room when I walk in.
I'm stunning, but my eyes and past are ugly.

I am the one with no dreams,
Only a will to survive and a devotion to my kage.

I am the one who turned my back on my home
So I could have my own dreams.

I am the one who has stained themselves red
With the blood of the innocent and immoral alike.

I am the one in the back of the room,
Watching over the rim of a sake bottle.

I am the one lost in the field,
Fighting for a cause long forgotten.

I am the one with my name on a plaque with hundreds of others,
Because my body couldn't be found.

I am the one bleeding in the pouring rain,
Weeping because no one is here to take my body home.

I am the one no one missed when I died,
Because I killed the ones that got close to me long before.

I am the one who takes the name of shinobi,
Until the last breath escapes my lips.