Request by Lil'OldNarcissisticMe
(The Art of Standing)
He's seen oceans roil
And skies split open
He has felt both powerful
And insignificant
In the face of enemies
And even nature itself
Such is the nature of a man
Who stands at the top of the world
.
He has made both enemies
And friends
And known people
Who were a little bit of both
Yet nothing can compare
To the feeling
Of having people at your side
Not as friends or enemies or somewhere in-between
But as family
.
These men are sons to him
They are sons of the sea
And he is the sea itself
Roiling
Dangerous
And untamable
Is his blade
He will take these men
Gather them beneath his sails
And seek adventure
Such is the nature of the man
Who stands atop the world
.
Family is more important than anything
Not life
Not death
Not power or order
Can compare
To the bonds created
By hard days of work
And battles of iron and blood
(And maybe, perhaps, a little sake thrown in as well)
.
He can see potential
As clearly as the sun or sky
Each man he takes aboard
Possesses the will
And the fight
To sail the seas
There are some with more than others
And some who have already achieved it
But sometimes, he looks at his rival's son
And senses that this boy
May just be the cause
Of the world splitting open
.
When one of his sons dies
He grieves like any father would
But when one of his sons kills
A brother
In cold blood
His veins are filled with icy fury
Enough to shake mountains
He is no longer intimidated by mother nature
When she causes the sky to split open
(That was many years ago),
Now,
He is the one carving into the thunder
.
Life goes on,
Until he finds
His new plan is not to avenge a son
But save one
And when he sees the battlefield
Filled with white coats
And brimming tension
He knows this will decide
How the world tips
For the sake of himself, he does not care
He has been tipping the world
For a long time already
But for the sake of his sons,
He sincerely hopes
It will tip in his favor
.
(How cruel that the Devil
Gave him the power to shake worlds
Yet he cannot save his own son)
.
As he bleeds,
He remains standing
For there are three things the world
Cannot take from him
.
He is the man
Who stands
At the top of the world
.
He has seen oceans roil
And skies split
He is powerful in the face of both
.
And he will stand, no matter what,
For his sons
They are the sons of the sea
And the sea cannot fall
He is roiling
Dangerous
And untamable
Not even grief
Or wounds
Or death itself
Will bring him to his knees
(Such is the nature of the strongest man:
Still standing)