T E N

The foreman watched
The group dispatched,
Then urged his colleagues forth,

And idling
Out of the ring
Retired to his berth.

Where in his shack
He fast unpacked
Some parchment for creating,

And once complete
Turned round to greet
The giant who was waiting.

“Now it begins,
The quest for things,
By those we have deceived,

So take these notes
Charged with the quotes
Of deeds hereby decreed;

For as we planned
The realms of man
Will quickly fall away,

As ravenous
As scavengers
They‘ll flee their homes today,

And leave them free
For you and me
To occupy instead,

And take at last
The unsurpassed
Resources they will shed”.

The giant swayed
His mighty frame,
Then shook his head a while,

“But are you sure
We can procure
The end of our exile”

The foreman rose,
As if opposed,
And barked a sharp reply:

“The forest hosts
Are seeking ghosts
They think will make them wise,

Whilst my men race
Their tails to chase
What business will be left,

And the seer’s gone,
As has the son,
On their fictitious quest.

So get thee hence,
My giant friend,
With letter in thy hand,

And tell thy folk
The ash and oak
Will soon be stripped of man”

The foreman smiled
As to a child
Consoled by bed time tales,

The behemoth left
Like morning breath
In search of restive sails,

Uncertain of
Whose cloven hooves
He’d bargained with today,

And whether it
Was worth the risk
Of being led astray.

But as he fused
Into the roots
Of larger trunks than he,

The giant’s cares
Were being shared
By our young hero’s team.

Whose truth, the seer,
Knew to be near,
And tinder charged as well,

And at the back
Of the group’s track
Felt all their sorrow swell.

For he’d told the boy
He would deploy
The violence he foresaw,

But actually
It would be he,
The seer, who’d make war.

For such were times
When harbored crimes
Conspired in the woods,

And only strife,
And it’s cold knife,
Could break their brotherhood:

As giant souls
Once more resolved
To with the trees be fused,

And scale the fence
Of innocence
They’d long ago eschewed.