AN: I'm so sorry about all of the lines in this chapter, Doc Manager wouldn't let me put in a blank line for some reason so I have had to use lines to separate the stanzas.
The Early Collected Poetry of Ludwig von Koopa, from Shards of Self: A Memoir by Nikolai V. Koopa.
Upon moving into the castle to live with His Royal Highness (H.R.H.) King Bowser Koopa, a new arc of life began for Ludwig. This new arc, however, was not easy to commence, as Ludwig soon discovered. He was regularly plagued by night terrors and suffered severe insomnia for several years, all linked to the horrific events of his past. Magic alone could not cure his deepest fears, nor even restrain them, but the young Ludwig soon happened to chance upon something that allowed him to simultaneously vent his emotions and take away some of the fear and hurt inflicted on him from his past troubles. Ludwig had discovered none other than the art of poetry. Attached below are some of his never-before-seen works that he composed between the ages of ten and twelve. Something that you will most likely notice about reading them is the rather depressing tone they exhibit. As mentioned previously, this was Ludwig's way of releasing all of the emotions that he had been holding back. He was reluctant to discuss almost anything of his past with me when we first met (of course, as anyone from either of our kingdoms will tell you, we are much better acquainted than that now!) A lot of information from Ludwig's past must, however, at his bequest, remain the past, so what you will read of it in this memoir is highly condensed. Therefore, we would like to invite you to feast your eyes upon some of Ludwig's early works. He has stated that they are not perfect and may contain errors but he would like you to see them nonetheless.
Dance of Death (Danse Macabre)
He sweeps in his
Black robes,
As though
Attending a ball.
This is, however, no ordinary ball,
For in it is a dance.
The Dance of Death,
Danse Macabre.
Death itself, has many dances.
Some, eager to avoid his fatal touch,
Choose to tango their way around him,
Whist others waltz
Peacefully.
Treating him not as a fearsome fiend,
But a welcome friend.
To what end?
If your time has come
Why seek you to remain
Here?
When you can return to his,
Your old lovers arms,
And leave the other
Here?
She stares death in the
Eye.
Acknowledging that her time has come,
Today the day she dies.
It will not be death,
At his hands, on his terms.
Oh no,
That she will most certainly see to.
To let him kill her,
Would be his victory,
Plain to see
Why she must do the wretched deed herself.
The fear is still there, that is true,
But why rue
This day?
It was always coming, after all.
She thinks of him.
Her son, on the run
From a fate worse than death
(He, of course, is clueless).
What will become
Of him?
And his friends,
What of them?
But there is no time now
To dwell upon these questions.
Not now, no,
Time is a fickle,
Fleeting thing.
The grim deed must be done
To score herself a final victory,
To one day give her son peace of mind.
She looks the devil before her in the eye,
He knows, he lunges, but he is too late.
The metal shard has already been plunged
Deep, deep, into her heart.
He scarcely had time
To bat an eye,
As she drifted from one plane of existence
To another.
Ich und du
No matter what I say,
No matter what I do,
It always comes back to you and I,
I and you,
Ich und du,
Ich und
Du.
Reflection
Looking into my mirror
one day, I was given quite the fright,
For standing there in front of me
was really quite the sight!
Gazing unto the glass,
I chanced to look upon his face,
And saw he was not I,
His eyes aflame, of me there was no trace.
His eyes were brown, mine are grey,
His hair was messy, mine is neat.
And looking down I saw great claws
Protruding from his feet.
He did not move,
I did not speak,
For what could I have said?
My mind was weak.
Then all of a sudden, a frenzy of motion,
My reflection's face filled with glee.
"King dad, come quick, come quick!" he chanted,
"Come quickly, come and see!"
A deafening roar came next,
That could have shaken the foundations of stone.
I drew myself back from my mirror, shaken,
Terrified, chilled to the bone.
The roar that I heard filled my heart
with fear,
So I leapt aside
To the mirrors rear.
I waited a heartbeat,
Maybe two,
Before I stepped back again
to see if they had gotten through…
But, to my amazement, they had gone,
The connection broken, perchance?
For a moment I could not believe what had happened
And stared at the mirror askance.
I dared not ask the king that night,
About the things I'd seen.
Besides, he was too busy (so he said),
Searching for a queen.
'That mirror must be taken away,'
I thought to myself that night.
'I cannot risk them coming back,
They gave me quite the fright!'
I did not, however,
Envisage what was to come.
What I can say is that my woes were far from over,
And soon all would come undone.
Searching
I was told you were always watching,
If so, where are you now?
Do you see all of this destruction,
Ageless goddess of the stars?
How many of us have fallen now?
How many still to come?
All these thoughts I think to myself,
As I wander down this unlit path.
If you are there, then why don't you
light my way?
It is so dark here, I feel I will trip and fall
over some unseen root.
If I can't see you
then how do I know that you are there?
She told me I should trust you,
But how do I know that I can?
It is not only myself I fear for, rather,
It is those I travel with.
They are so young,
So vulnerable.
I wonder…
Can you help give me the strength
required to protect them,
These small Koopas I love?
I regret so many things,
Words unspoken; things unseen.
I'm trying not to let them get to me,
But it is hard, I am so tired.
It's getting late, we must now
rest.
For tomorrow will surely mark
another struggle.
I ask of you,
I implore you,
Hear my thoughts,
Hear my prayers…
They are calling me,
I must leave you,
And so, for now,
So long, farewell, adieu.
AN: So originally I was trying to avoid having author's notes in this chapter, but judging from a couple of reviews, there is a clear issue that needs addressing. I have, in all of my time on this site, deleted two reviews. Both of these reviews were troll reviews and went along the lines of 'your writing sucks.' That isn't criticism, that's just mean. You are under no obligation to like my story, I write about things that interest me personally and if you aren't a fan of them, that's fine, there is just no need for something like that.
I would also like to extend an apology to the user Everets. I can't recall having ever received a guest review from you and I believe that is due to the site itself, as I have had a similar problem with my reviews not showing up on stories. Please be assured I did not delete it, as I am open to constructive criticism. I am in the process of editing those paragraphs, as you are right, they are humongous!
I would never delete a review because it criticised my work as that would completely defeat the purpose of my joining this site. All reviews, both good and those that contain criticism, are greatly appreciated :)