Beyond

Causeway

Coracle crossfire from sedge camouflage
covered us as we carried equipment, curiously
lolloping along. Pirates had paused,
as their ramp ran into prime position;
then they swarmed swiftly, scrambling up
to hit us from the hillock; and they dealt death
with bows to back-shoot us, our cowardice to cull.
Men moaned, stumbled, slewing.
Of my chosen children one pitched pierced,
heart-hit, stilled, a statue,
deaths undoing. Dumbly I lumbered on.
But then thieves fellows flung themselves
on goose chase, a gaggle gang -
and their bowmen balked at friendly fire.
So we reached the rendezvous, wooden wall
a dragon-skin re-scaled, a unity undaunted.
Then those veterans of vice, vicious villains
mongrel manglers, criminal killers
remembered themselves and assembled their wall.
But it seemed to me Aelfwine had miscalculated -
if their ram ran the ramp to ram us,
(a gruesome grim grew in me;
rooting tusks found  truffle's truth)
after ramming, rout cedes to slaughter
and dead men tell no tales.
Some raven tongue touched me with terror
that this woeful weapon was not widely reckoned.
I sighed in nightmare's eyeing smile;
and I knew now to stand still,
waiting in the wall,
stationed for the storm's story.
Here the heart heavies;
the wolf wounds widely.