Shunned Hero

Stony scarlet eyes                                                  

Soft spirit in disguise

Veiled the vile lies

Anent the clan’s demise      
Traitor, they declare

Tell me why, I swear

Tears seeped there

From that cruel crimson stare

Shunned hero, gracious and great

Are you truly fine with this forlorn fate? 

Criminal who slayed

Anguished; dismayed

Exorbitant price paid

For peace to be made

Unseen honor; exposed disgrace

Tell me why, if guilty is his case

There’s an image I can’t erase

He died with a smile on that grim face

Shunned hero, gallant and great

Will you sleep soundly, swallowing this tragic fate?     

Inner warmth; outer wickedness

Concealed kindness; apparent coldness

Compelled to cast aside his conscience

Mission of ruthlessness

Bloodstained hands in the moonlight

Red as fierce as his glare of spite

Yet the true victim of that plight

Was the lonely silhouette in the gloomy night      
Shunned hero, glorious and great

Will you be at ease, accepting this heartrending fate?

Bloody clouds blotted the inky skies

Band of shadowy cloaks became allies

Dusk filled with the crows’ cries

As the sun set, never to rise

Down a path of desolation

Melancholy; damnation

Destination of devastation

Situation of no salvation

Shunned hero, was your mind set?

Certain this is a choice you won’t regret?      

Soul wept silently

Burden borne patiently

Wore a mask of pretend

Performed the act until the end

Mindful of the ramifications

No appreciation; no compensations

Forever abominated

Legacy tainted

Shunned hero, must you have done this?

Plunged into this bottomless abyss?

Forsaken for eternity

Truth effaced from history

Saved the village from affliction

Ensured a precious one’s protection

Who pursued him with vengeful intentions

Conscious of the cost yet followed through

As long as harmony would ensue

It didn’t matter whether they knew

Shunned hero, goodhearted and tender

My heart aches for your noble surrender

Like a strawberry poison-dart frog

Splash of red and black on a log

Infamous for being venomous

Cold-blooded and dangerous

But we utterly fail to notice

What’s hidden beneath the surface

This creature’s real beauty

Extreme care for its family

Benefits its home— small insects and plants

By eliminating predatory mites and ants

Remarkable hero, most extraordinary I’ve known

Carried the world’s weight on your own

May you now rest evermore

After successfully averting the war

Isn’t this what you suffered for?

I wish the outcome was worth the pain                         

I pray your sacrifice was not in vain

I will endlessly admire

That icy gaze of fire

Burned into my mind

Bittersweet memory— one of its kind

This is a story of butchery

That brought about amity

Tale of a dark dove

A hero to love