EXCALIBUR

I have given myself
Utterly and wait to see
What you will do
With me.

Will you see me
For what I am?
Will you cherish me,
Unsheathe and wield
My deadly grace
With tender hands?

Will your hands
My blessed
Edge caress
And know
The world’s
Very throat
Must yield
Defenseless
To our press…

Or will you be afraid
The blade
You grasped
May be too sharp,
Or the flame
Of our forging
Too hot?

Will you.
Undecided
Between a boy's
Fear and a man's,
Start back
And drop
Your chance?

Manuela Cardiga