By Tod Christensen
The Knight sat quietly on his horse on the top of the hill
Wishing for even the slightest of breezes, but the air
remained still
He could feel the blood dripping down inside his armor
from his numerous wounds
Also drenched in sweat from a battle that would soon conclude
His horse was white with foam and red from the blood
And the ground underneath them had also turned red as
if from a flood
From all the bodies that were lying there from both enemies
and brothers
The Knight knew there would be just one more battle for him
and then no others
The enemy was regrouping a mile away far down below
Still licking their wounds so their progress was slow
Even though they now outnumbered the Knight at least a dozen to one
They weren’t surprised to see the Knight waiting for them when everyone
else would have run
In order to be a Knight, he had to take many an oath and a vow
And those oaths meant something to him unlike to other men both then and now
He and his brothers had sworn to defend this small village through the Oath of Protection
The Knight would never embarrass his brothers with some last-minute defection
On the opposite side of the hill the villagers were making their way to a river
Once across the bridge they could easily hold back anything their enemies could deliver
One man looked back and saw the Lone Knight still guarding their escape
And was stunned as he watched the scene unfold and take shape
I can’t believe men would give their life for someone they barely knew
Unlike most men the Knights deeds match their words and both are honest and true
Then the man gasped as he witnessed the Knight’s final act
And the image he saw would forever change him with its impact
Alone and outnumbered he saw the Knight charge down the hill into the advancing enemy
A jarring image that would forever stay locked away in that man’s memory
The villagers all safely crossed that bridge and the man now understood
That for a man to truly be a man his deeds should match his words just like a Knights would.
