Unsung

By Cliff Lake

 

Unsung

 

It was near the great falls that these met,

Two warriors,

Champions of their peoples,

To battle for the honor unspoken,

And unheralded as it was.

 

There beneath mighty trees,

Were their weapons bared,

The vigorous clash sounded,

But the crashing waters louder,

Allowed no note of battle heard without.

 

Wound upon wound dealt,

No tiring these stalwarts,

Sighted by curious forest denizens,

Wandering on their own quests,

And wandering on.

 

Far into night,

Then dawn and day,

Too evenly matched,

Too invested in struggle,

Two refusing yield.

 

Night came again,

And with it at last taxing strength,

And a dual thrust,

Then both of these understood expiration,

And collapsed together vanquished.

 

Upon the dawn,

A passing tribe happened on that site,

And laying down their burdens,

Erected a cairn over those fallen,

Though unknown to them.

 

No word came to their peoples,

No remembrance made.

None came by that mound that knew,

No names attached,

They were left and forgotten unsung.

 

And so, the Sun set, then rose.

And so, the grass grew,

And the wind blew, and life continued.

There the matter ends,

If it mattered at all…

 

Cliff Lake 2/19/2024

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2024

Location: Wichita, KS, USA

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