The Potioneers versus The Dark Masters - The Opening Poem Part I

INTRODUCTORY EPIGRAPH

In the pre-war era when itenerant home-remedy salesmen still wandered the country, they had a traditional patter for selling a potion that was supposed to be particularly effective in treating burns and cuts. A toad with four legs in front and six behind would be placed in a box with mirrors lining the four walls. The toad, amazed at its own appearance from every angle, would break into an oily sweat. This sweat would be collected and simmered for 3,721 days while being stirred by a willow branch. The result was the marvelous potion.

When writing about myself, I feel something like that toad in the box.

Akira Kurosawa, Something Like an Autobiography

BOOK ONE

The Blisters in His Hands

He took upon himself

To gather every strength

In taking propositions

Of a never-ending chase

The poison struck his nerves

Although quick to flee, yet inflicted

He has shown magnificence

An envied devotion

Of grace, of suffering, of chaste

I was a witness

Of the brewing darkness

Incredibly hidden within

Like the home of a nest

A purpose, a life subsists

No other realm shall take

To be understood

Then, the art takes place

Of potions and more

But like the darkness

It shall keep the stillness

A battle begun

And a war erupts

The way it was

Simply cannot last

Metallurgical, it was

The poison vessels disrupt

Whether swords or spears

Nothing shall be feared

Someone must act

And the urgency demands

An eternal rivaly has begun

The archenemy rises

The nemesis insist

A cruel battle it is

Poison. Illusions.

Never-ending contritions

God forbid

Nothing exists

But of potions and darkness

There is no material

That could keep

An eternal rest or peace

The war resumes

The poisoned sticks or dark swords

Will there be eventual reconciliation?

Yet impossible

The dear Book begins

A first in the series

Both Potioneers and Dark Masters

In Act One, both shamelessly

The invisible audience gasp

There is sorrow, but no one claps

The story commences

In light of the consequences

The story will begin shortly. Please carefully turn to the next page.

x---------x

Picture from Pexels.