The Epic of the Great King

There sits behind deep forests hidden, A sight to behold, place of all sins ridden, Where the great rivers give life and churn, A thousand diamonds and the trees sing Along with the wind, ruled by the great King. Generous and humble was the King, Of whose greatness every bird sing, Strength of a thousand elephants, A heart of gold, the Kingdom grew, Under the rule of his reign, the birds freely flew. As the night welcomed the stars, The King retired to the chamber of her's, There the Queen sat waiting for his footsteps, He looks at her, her red lips quiver, Roses bloom on her cheeks , shy, she shiver. They look on at the shooting star, When shall I fly in such a chariot to so far? The King smiles, though in heart he fears, When time shall stop for love to grow, In the river of nebula, we shall forever flow. The wind vowed to not storm, The clouds vowed to form, The Earth vowed to not dance, The Rivers vowed to not flood, So long flowed the great dynasty's blood! The vows could not stop the knock of Death, When she made the King count his last breath, Horror struck the King's eyes, There laid his heart still on the royal bed, The Queen was dead, left were the tears to shed. Sorrow gave way to fury, Death was to be punished, without any jury, The King rode to the deepest layers of Hell, Death laughed at the furious King, Foolish! For thou to descend here thou mortal being! O' Death, foolish are thou to think Of me an ordinary being, to think, You shall be forgiven for thy great sin, I carry the blessings of the lord, No god on this Earth shall have me thralled! Seized was the King in her wretched arms But they burned under his divine charms, He muttered in a whisper a great spell, Death found herself encaged in shackle, Hauled to the Kingdom in her vain struggle. The Queen opened her eyes, Saw the floor where in despair the King lies, Rejoiced, he kissed her forehead in love, He held her hand as she called him Dear, He looked at her in peace, there was no fear. Distressed were the gods at the sudden event, Sent they a Messenger, to the Earth he descend, Stood before the King, he told of the god's word, O' mighty King, thou commit a sin great, Without Death, the Earth shall run dry with no bread. Thou should worry not of my people Lord, I vow to not let the Earth dry and drought, Be kind O' Lord, and return to your abode, The messenger returned in despair, The gods knew for a war they must prepare. Heard was a voice from above with thunder, O'mighty King! Come here thou and face your blunder! The king ordered his divine ships to fly, Armed with a sword, destined to not fail, With arrows a thousand, the king set sail. The gods lured him to the realm of stars, Where stops time with no life the eyes see so far, Flowed a river of nebula from the god's divine fingers, Thus began a battle fierce on the beautiful river, It's a shame, bloodshed the seven colours must suffer! Lives fell like dried leaves of cruel autumn, Swords in veil of red, some stood proud, some fell to the bottom, The gods feared their brutal demise, As the King swung his bow, in sight what he was to slain, The arrows fell like the tiny drops of rain. Demigods were sent to the mighty King's palace, Where the Queen was, stranger to present events, Panicked she at her husband's fate, Inquired the demigods of Death's residence, She led them there with little resistance. Owing to her cries, they took her to the scene of battle, Where she saw the red river and the great hassle, The King paused at the sight of his beloved, O'dear, what thou are doing in his place of violence? My King, let go of this bloodshed and return to thou senses! The gods seized the moment and passed a curse, The Queen embraced the King as it touched the body of her's, In horror the King witnessed the red face, Freeze in time, petals of her body stiff, As she turned to stone at the god's mischief. The gods realised the prize of their win, She is not dead my King, for her death will never begin, She suffers forever, no god can undo what has been done, The King silently stared at the pained face, He remembered the vows he took to bring her solace. I shall let her out of her suffering, O' Lords, But let me take leave of thou for gone are my forget me nots, The King broke the stone to pieces with a swing, He thrusted the sword to his chest with eyes closed, Here I come dear, let me join thou in thy arms rosed. Death came to take the young couple, But with the god's defiance, left with no trouble, Released were the young couple's spirits, To roam and play and live in youth for eternity, To fly the night sky with hands in embrace, They are seen as the shooting star, still flowing, In their chariot, to their journey to eternity. Sponsor - Hilo Poet Contest Name - Metrical Tale Date - 8th January, 2023