the time is not now, but could come
the desire of a clan to be forged
cannot be fulfilled if such high walls
still enshroud the way.

a warrior ponders his fate alone in soul
yet in company of a cherished one
my eyes behold this from afar
as from beyond the balcony a star.

yet treachery approaches, i can see
anger in the form of a dark steed
not unlike those that charge through battlefields
kept in tight enclosure, greatly enraged

you are this warrior who dreams of a great clan
and yet you bound into this place
as if not knowing what you'll find
and there the steed locks eyes with you.

i stand as the steed charges, and you meet
his fury blow by blow, as warriors do
but such great fury bottled has more power
than you skill, and the end comes not as a surprise.

it is then that i call hoarsely from my post
a "NO" that rings so clear through the mist
it is then that the warsteed looks at me
and charges, but something holds his hooves

we realize that we cannot each other engage
the armor of my vows takes solidity and shape
his fury brought me there, it's he who called my name
and so he comes to me, and bids me set him free

i cannot take my eyes from the fallen warrior there
i wish i could have stopped the charge before too late
but it was not my place, so the warsteed says
and visible before us is the long road we must tread.

i turn one last time with weeping eyes to look
at the once proud warrior lying in the dust
yet he is no longer there, where he fell
there's only me, this poem and the dark warsteed.

i lead him out of there, i wait for him to go
i'm tempted to look behind me, but i know i must not
i fix my eyes on the warsteed as he takes to the road
and with the clap of thunder, the road takes me home.

A Vision
by Cindy Aixmar Salgado