The Prisoner

The damp air,
The cold stone,
All whisper,
"You're alone."

Hands are bound,
Your head insane,
To remember life,
Is such a pain.

Fingers blistered,
Throat is dry,
And sore memories,
Make you cry.

You always said,
You can't be held,
Behind the bars,
Of a prison cell,

But here you are,
Trembling and pained,
Being punished,
Your pride contained.

You conspire,
In your mind,
For freedom,
You hope you'll find.

Through the window,
Overhead?
Or kill the man,
Who brings your bread?

When he arrives,
Unlocks the door,
And places your bread,
On the floor.

You grabbed his throat,
And hold him tight,
Constrict his air,
With all your might.

He falls limp,
You lay him down,
Peer out the door,
No one's around.

With great stealthiness,
Escape from your jail,
Prisoners see you,
Some cheer, some wail.

You hush them quickly,
Yearn to move on,
Now you're fearing,
Chance at freedom, gone.

No one appears,
Much to surprise,
You exit the dungeon,
You need a disguise.

Poise and calm,
You stroll the halls,
Waiting for a guard,
To answer his calls.

Alas, a butler,
Similar to you,
Comes rushing by,
With tea for two.

A vase you grab,
And aim for his head,
The man collapses,
But isn't dead.

Silently, you pull,
Him into a room,
You change him clothes,
And clean and groom.

With some poise,
You leave him behind,
And search the halls,
For an exit to find.

You enter the lobby,
With the grand gold doors,
Your heart swells,
With pride from before.

Just then, a guard,
Approaches you taunt,
And you begin to panic,
Thinking you're caught.

The guard says,
In a demanding voice,
"The king wants his tea,"
Leaving you no choice.

Broken, you leave,
The great golden doors,
Away from the freedom,
Behind them they bore.

The guard leads you,
Through hall and way,
So you can deliver,
The drink on your tray.

It is not long,
tail you approach the throne,
The king sitting royal,
Yet, sitting alone.

You serve his tea,
Placid and polite,
Wishing to leave.
Wishing to take flight.

The king watches you,
As you serve his drink,
And when you finish,
You're free you think.

Then the kings says,
"She waited for tea,
But my queen left,
Fetch her for me.

Out in the garden,
On this beautiful day,
Find her there,"
And you're sent on your way.

You haven't seen the sun,
In about three years,
And the blooming garden,
Almost brings you to tears.

You round a bush,
To find the queen,
With another man,
You go unseen.

She whispers and laughs,
Into his ear,
The man holds her close,
A little too near.

You think to yourself,
That you must leave,
But the couple you witness,
Is hard to believe.

Eager to tell,
Then queen broke the law,
You run to the king,
And report what you saw.

With you at the front,
And the king to your side,
You lead an anxious group,
To the scene outside.

It changed vastly,
Since you last viewed,
The queen and the man,
Now laid nude.

The king roars in anger,
Guards seize the man,
The queen begs forgiveness,
The king says she's banned.

You smirk a smile,
Revenge is sweet,
With a turn, you walk away,
Calmly and neat.

Out the golden doors,
You leave with open arms,
You embrace your freedom,
And with it brings warmth.

Just then, the butler,
Who you changed attire,
Came rushing to you,
Like a maniac on fire.

He cries out in fury,
Accusing you without lie,
Saying you must be captured,
And be hung to die.

Few servants find interest,
At what the man claims,
But guards perk up,
Sensing the flames.

A guard follows suit,
Claiming a prisoner escaped,
You fall to the ground,
Wishing you were caped.

But the guards scoop you up,
And drag you back inside,
To the feet of the king,
Who is taken by surprise.

"He attacked me! Escaped prisoner!"
Is all that is cried.
You feel your heart shrink,
It shriveled up and died.

The king takes this in,
And begins to shake his head,
You think you're good as gone,
That you're good as dead.

And alas comes your sentence,
The king shouts "Death!"
Back to the prison you go,
Left to count your breaths.

The days pass by,
But no one comes for you,
And the breaths you have breathed,
Count at 2 million and two.

Just then, a parade,
Of brilliant soldiers arrive,
And you know this is your last day,
That you spent alive.

You try to remember,
How you got into this,
Then you recall,
The crime you confessed.

You placed a toxin,
In the king's food,
And the taster ate willing,
Thinking it was good.

It was not long,
'Til he started to choke,
And a minute later,
The taster croaked.

An innocent man,
Was blamed and accused,
He was to take your place,
On the platform at the noose.

You filled with guilt,
Took claim to the crime,
And only through chance,
Could you do time.

But now you walk,
To what you deserve,
For the brave you put on,
For showing some nerve.

But everyone agrees,
The king is cruel,
You weren't the first,
To try to end his rule.

A crowd has gathered,
To watch you hang,
Drums fill the air,
With a thrumming bang.

The executioner waits,
Stands thick and tall,
Ready to pull the lever,
Trigger your lethal fall.

The king announces,
Your crime and dues,
But all you can look at,
Is the platform and noose.

You're force to the platform,
Your neck wrapped with rope,
With no chance at escape,
You lose all of your hope.

They force you to stand,
Atop the trap door,
You start thinking of heaven,
The happiness it'll bore.

The executioner laughs,
As he goes for the lever,
GOOD-BYE WORLD!
Good-bye, forever.

The lever is yanked,
You hold your breath,
And you expect to fall,
Plunge to your death.

But the door doesn't open,
Not freed from its latch,
The crowd falls silent,
You start to laugh.

The latch rusted shut,
The door refused to budge,
You're life's spared longer,
Or, so you adjudge.

But soldiers gather round,
Rope cut from your throat,
You're tempted to shout out,
You're tempted to gloat.

The king sits and ponders,
What he's to do,
He needs something efficient,
Something to kill you through.

Just then, he remembers,
Grandfather's stoning pit,
Large boulders meant for crushing,
That will do perfect.

"To the stones!" the kings cries,
Everyone inhales a gasp,
The stone's weren't used for decades,
A concept hard to grasp.

But, alas two soldiers grab you,
And start to lead you away,
You muse to find freedom,
To create a great escape.

You pretend that your ankle,
Twists in a painful state,
The soldiers try to drag you,
But they can't manage your weight.

They stop to attend your ankle,
And that's when you attack,
Completely taken by surprise,
You had caught them off track.

One grabs for his sword,
But you catch the man's wrist,
And your adrenaline bursts,
As you snap it with a twist.

He cries out in misery,
As the other grabs your neck,
You attempt a gasp for air,
Your eyes blot with blue specks.

You throw your elbow backwards,
And plant it in his ribs,
Although the soldier recoils,
His grasp doesn't give.

You throw yourself, frantic,
You both collide with a wall,
You try wrestling the man off,
Desperate, you fight with your all.

The pounding in your head,
Screams your brain needs blood,
But you feel yourself weaken,
And darkness starts to flood.

You try lifting your body,
Despite the soldier on your back,
But he persists to stay on,
Not daring to give slack.

Needing to get away,
You go into a roll,
The soldier slips off,
And you run like a fool.

Your life was spared,
You very lucky man,
How many deadly encounters,
Can you withstand?

Weak and trembling,
You stumble down a hall,
Trying to keep balanced,
Trying not to fall.

You want to stop,
And sleep a bit,
The idea is tempting,
Hard to resist.

Every second is a threat,
Every moment a foe,
Soldiers are searching for you,
You must keep a go.

Down corridors you run,
Voices echoing from behind,
You round a sheer corner,
A wall of men you find.

Their arrows are ready,
You are their aim,
And it seems as though,
You found the end of your game.

You slowly back away,
Hands in the air,
Someone grabs your wrists,
And arrests you there.

The king then approaches,
Smiling under breath,
He nods to a commander,
The gesture of your death.

Before you can react,
An arrow is released,
A piercing pain in your chest,
Makes you fall to your knees.

You gasp for air,
As your heart starts to fault,
All you wanted was freedom,
But life came to a halt.

In that hallway,
You have faced the end,
But we will remember your story,
We will remember you, my friend.