unconquered

this pen I must make mightier
than your penetrating blade
bleeding yet undefeated
ink caresses page

crowds swirling all around me
pressing their noisy demands
longing for something deeper
I stretch out my desperate hand

to a subtle whispered calling
from undreamed of foreign port
pierce me with a promise
and a course of last resort

I unsheathe my weapon, but
let my blood stain your blade
I don't know what I'm fighting for
but I never go unscathed

you circle me, encircle me
but never quite engage
testing me, assessing me
is it really war we wage?

and yet it is inevitable
that our two swords should cross
for how else can we measure
if we're gold or merely dross

masters both, the question begs
who will tire first
of parrying and plunging
with these double-edged words

panting and exhilarated
recognition dawns
for each to find an equal
yet relentlessly fight on

point and counterpoint
our defenses are too strong
and so we leave no opening
for love to conquer wrong

blinded by this loneliness
the spark is hid within
whose darkness goes the deeper
and what is left to win

acknowledging your prowess
my back pressed to the wall
I deliberately unfurl fingers
and let useless weapon fall

this the dream of love I have
to be understood and known
and conquered by a better man
my gauntlet has been thrown