Kindness

(Part 2 of Southern Samurai)

 

One afternoon, the father rushed in the house.

Dripping with sweat from working in the barn where he made all of his tools.

He was passing down a weapon he just finished forging.

A gift that his child should learn to use for the approaching war.

The father said he was going to give his boy the gift of Kindness.

Then he dropped the katana in front of the boy’s feet.

 

He told the boy that if enemies were in his path,

That he should kill them with Kindness.

Everyday, the boy got acquainted with his cold steel .

Learned to admire every part of his weapon, including the character embroidered above the  tsuba.

From the hi to ha, handle to blade, how the sword looked in the light and the shade.

Ignorant children didn’t like him, and mistook his Kindness for weakness. Warriors use fists and feet!

 

Until the day thieves came through dirt roads to terrorize many of those children.

Finally, a test for the sword that will one day cut bullets.

When they finally came to the boy, the sword was drawn high.

Then came low to stab each thief in the thigh, and thrusts down the muscle

Then ripped the sword out the back of their knee caps with too little precision, too much force.

The boy rubbed the character embroidered on his blade and thought he was too kind.

 

- Orginally written in 2012