Annaer's Lament
©Senekha
Such fingers deft no more shall play
Their triads sweet and lyrics gay;
The wood is quiet, light is gone,
Though once upon this land hath shone
A beacon bright; a minstrel great
Was born of faith, undone by fate.
She sang and played by starlit night,
Where eve was peace and morn was light,
When sky was clear and stars were keen,
Proud Annaer with her fingers lean
Would weave her tales upon her lyre,
And many songs and tunes conspire.
Through shadowed vales and cloudless eves,
She danced upon the golden leaves
When summer waned, and autumn glowed,
Yet Annaer in the woods abode.
She loved the beauty of the Earth,
And all pure things of true great worth.
She had a son begot through love,
Whose tinkling laughter was heard above
The rushing rivers, whispering trees:
The fairest child between the seas.
His golden hair and sparkling eyes
Spoke not of his future demise.
She sang and danced through wood and dell
Until a day of doom befell;
Invaders from across the sea –
The images of cruelty –
They came to conquer all the land,
And held the tools of hate in hand.
When from afar Annaer returned,
She saw the pillaged and the burned;
She scrambled through her ruined home
And found that she'd be e'er alone.
She wept aloud and bowed her head;
Her son was now among the dead.
She left her lyre, so long ago,
And took up sword and great longbow.
Now hunter grim, she went abroad
To right the wrongs and slay all fraud.
She mastered all the arts of war:
The blades, the poisons, and the lore.
The wind of winter winds his horn,
The frosty veil is rent and torn.
A bleak wind whistles 'round her head;
She'll never cease 'til all are dead.
Forever she alone will stand,
Avenger of her native land.
Yet when her bloody task was through,
A truth assaulted her anew:
While hope declines, yet darkness grows,
And never shall be overthrown.
Her anguished scream pierced through the night;
Forevermore endures her plight.
The forests weep; all regions mourn,
But evil smiles, and cowards scorn.
O mountains great, ye mourn in vain,
For peace is gone, and love is slain;
Upon a bloodstained shore she lies.
An eagle screams, and passes by.
