copyright Marie Gail Stratford
I
make death:
long, beautiful
annihilation.
We all do here
at the forge,
but Harold,
who’s a klutz,
makes axes:
tree death,
and William
shapes animal
slaughter for
the butchers.
I am the best.
I make human
death. I sweat
at the steely
altar of Hades,
heated crimson
like future blood.
My masterpiece was for the king. It took a year to make. The hilt was set with a
fountain of diamonds, like the seeds of mourning lilies.
It won me a
citation. I
cannot read it,
but I know what
it says. The
best death
maker in
the realm.
The Green-Walled Tower 
February 18th, 2015 at 7:16 pm
Loved it – a story about a sword, in sword form. Poetry.
February 18th, 2015 at 7:36 pm
Thanks, KT. Doing it in that form came to me as I was about to post it. It’s easier to make that shape than some. 🙂
February 18th, 2015 at 8:30 pm
Splendid, both style and substance. Gave me goosebumps.
February 18th, 2015 at 10:28 pm
Thanks, Kimberley. It was fun to do.
February 18th, 2015 at 8:56 pm
Form poetry! Excellent! Aaron O’Loughlin would be proud.
February 18th, 2015 at 10:29 pm
I like mixing it up every now and then.
February 18th, 2015 at 9:19 pm
Excellent, David. Powerful poetry and a sword to match. You are outdoing yourself every week. 🙂
February 18th, 2015 at 10:30 pm
I suppose it could be considered poetry, although I didn’t write it that way. I’ll have to go back and reread it myself now. 🙂
February 18th, 2015 at 10:36 pm
I got that sense when I read it…that’s the best kind of poetry. The kind you didn’t intend.
February 18th, 2015 at 9:59 pm
Dear David, Good poetry and a masterpiece of a sword. Good job! Nan 🙂
February 18th, 2015 at 10:31 pm
Thanks, Nan. It was fun to do.
February 19th, 2015 at 12:18 am
Awesome work, David. Thus far, you have come closer than anyone else to touching on my reason for snapping this photo in the first place. My wife (who was not with me in Houston) had been catching up with Game of Thrones, and this struck a chord, so I took it to send her.
Beautifully told and just as beautifully presented.
MG
February 19th, 2015 at 3:49 am
Beautifully formatted (no mean feat with wordpress, I’ve found) and powerful prose. I love that you come up with something different every single week.
February 19th, 2015 at 7:08 am
Clapping.
February 19th, 2015 at 1:56 pm
Oh I love it.. and it brings back your story from last week to mind. We have to invent in form after a while.. wonderful
February 19th, 2015 at 5:46 pm
I was thinking as I was writing this that I should do a form story sometime and then this seemed like a good time, if only because a sword is easy to make.
February 19th, 2015 at 2:53 pm
Stellar job, David.
janet
February 19th, 2015 at 5:44 pm
Thank you, Janet. 🙂
February 20th, 2015 at 4:35 am
Dear David,
Your creativity and imagination never cease to amaze me. Magnicfico!
Shalom,
Rochelle
February 21st, 2015 at 6:46 pm
Thank you so much, Rochelle. I always appreciate your comments.
February 20th, 2015 at 9:33 am
That was chillingly beautiful. (If one can make death beautiful).
February 21st, 2015 at 6:44 pm
I don’t know if you can make death beautiful, but I wanted to portray both sides of swords, the art but also the slaughter they are made for. We don’t do that with many other weapons, except occasionally guns.
February 21st, 2015 at 6:45 pm
That’s true! Thank you.
February 20th, 2015 at 9:44 am
I know this is a lousy comment, but: WOW! Just Wow!
February 21st, 2015 at 6:42 pm
Seems like a good comment to me. 🙂 I appreciate it.
February 20th, 2015 at 10:51 am
You get an A+ for creativity this week, David. Not only for the sword, but for the beautifully crafted story as well.
February 21st, 2015 at 6:42 pm
Thanks Russell. I appreciate it. It came from seeing swords in the picture and realizing that despite all their beauty and the mythology we give to them sometimes, their job really is just to kill people. So I put it only in those terms.
February 21st, 2015 at 5:01 am
Brilliant! 😉
February 21st, 2015 at 6:37 pm
Thank you so much, Dawn! That’s a good word. 😉
February 21st, 2015 at 6:24 am
I think I’ll sleep less easily this evening. A highly visual piece.
February 21st, 2015 at 6:37 pm
Thanks, Patrick, although I hope you can still sleep okay. 🙂
February 24th, 2015 at 5:12 pm
Wonderful. The concept of deathmakers at their forge is fascinating, and the form and structure of the piece are great.
February 24th, 2015 at 5:32 pm
Thanks, Margaret. It was fun to do.
March 17th, 2015 at 1:56 am
loved it!