A Ninja at Sunset

A. fell upon his sword
When he was twenty-two years old

That was forty years ago now
Back when the lilac
Could be mixed with something
Something that tasted like honey
And when you fed it to a man
He'd be dead in ten seconds
And the last three seconds
Would be filled with unbearable sadness
So that he'd welcome death
Like an old lover
Back into bed

A. fell upon his sword
Because Iza didn't love him
Never did
Never would
And once he realized this
He decided he would go
And he wouldn't go quietly
With tainted lilac wine

That was back when a broken heart
Was what you died for
And your country
Was what you died for
And honor
Was what you protected
And if you couldn't
You died for that too

You killed yourself
In theatrical ways
To prove a point
To stir emotion
To inspire others
To let the world know
That a great life
Was being exterminated
In a great way
Because it was a great cause
For which you died

None of that anymore
No nobility, no honor

No swords even
Just rocking chairs
And sunsets

He lights a candle for A.
And says a prayer

The wind whistles a prayer back at him
But he bats it away like a house fly

He doesn't need nature's prayer
Nature has been cruel to him
Drooping his eyes, bending his hands
Making everything an effort

Everything a chore, a task
Something impossible

He looks at his hands
And thinks of the men
Who died by them

Most bad, some good

These were hands
That determined life

And now they can barely open a door
Or button a shirt

He should have gone the way of A.

Even without a girl to break his heart
There were enough reasons
To end it all early

After a certain age
The bad guys stopped growing mustaches
The good guys stopped telling bad jokes
And the women were no longer interested
In men who fought

They wanted poets instead
Poets and pacifists

And so a ninja was passe

That was when the sword should have called to him
Called and said--

'Come lay down.  Let's put this all to rest'

He rocks in his rocking chair
He closes his eyes
The wind whistles
He writes a poem
Behind his eyes
That will never see paper

And from around the corner
Another old man waits
With sword in hand
To do something
He should have done
Years ago...