Book of Time XIX

Donning the armor,

Mary marched through time searching
for Parsley and Sage.
She found two knights on her path
gathering at a crossroads.

One of the knights said,
"I will cover your escape,
let them follow me."
The other knight responded,
"You will not fool them for long."

An army approached
from an endless horizon.
Mary found them there.
Running toward the two knights,
she called out, "Wait, I can help!"

Both knights drew their swords.
Mary said, "I come in peace!
Who leads that army?"
One knight said to the other,
"She speaks? So, she's not like them."

Mary said, "Mindless?
Yeah, I can think for myself.
My name is Mary."
One knight said to her,
"You should not be here, Mary."

She said, "Well, I am.
Do you want my help or not?"
The other knight said,
"The only one who can stop
this army is the Lost Elf."

Mary said, "He's dead,
but we can use his ram horn
to distract the knights."
She showed them the loud, shrill horn
and the two knights were speechless.

Mary said, "Hello?"
The knights regained their focus,
and one said, "Blow it,
command them into the sea."
And that horn rang, loud and shrill.

Richard Auriga
Nassau County, NY