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Lady Ronin
- Lady Ronin -
In the winter of a certain year, a Ronin wandered lost,
Amidst the woodlands of the Nara region’s borders…
Without a lord to serve, nor a sponsor to pay the cost.
No one could say what thoughts in such a heart stirs…
But he wandered onward, and after a time was found,
When a solitary maiden, chanced upon his errant path.
Yet she was strange; her feet touched not the ground!
She lashed out at him with cruel claws, and red wrath.
But each time she slashed at him, she passed through,
Like a ghost out of legend, insubstantial as is a dream!
The warrior jumped back, not believing this was true,
And in that instant the maiden began to shrilly scream.
It was then the Ronin noticed a nearby fresh spring…
Hot amidst the cold air: its’ waters the color of blood.
Within it was some jewelry: a necklace and ruby ring,
Not far from which lay a fork-like branch of wood…
Which the warrior used: to retrieve those two baubles.
As they cooled in the snow, the maiden disappeared,
But that was not the end, of all the warrior’s troubles.
Had he known the truth, he would have truly feared!
The Ronin wore the necklace and the ring, and soon,
He walked into a nearby town, hoping to rest easy…
Whilst night descended, and out came the full moon.
It was too soon to be safe, too soon for any victory!
Removing his helmet, he noticed his face changed…
Feminine, and beautiful, like that of a porcelain doll.
It was that maiden’s face; the maid he now became!
He let out a scream; it was her voice that, did call…
As the innkeeper rushed, to see him as he now was.
Thinking the Ronin must have been female before…
But in disguise, the innkeeper made not further fuss.
Even when the lady warrior fled, out the inn’s door!
Running back to the place, where the spring did lie,
To cast the necklace and the ring back to the water.
But doing so did not cause this enchantment to die!
Now and ever more he was no son, but a daughter.
Fearing he was possessed: by the maiden, he acted,
Unsheathing his sword in order to end his very life…
But in the last minutes his resolve was so distracted.
Nearby lay a dead Ronin slain by some act of strife!
Reaching out to touch the dead warrior, just to see,
The living Ronin’s hands passed through it so fast…
And then her memory returned, setting her will free.
The lady Ronin remembered, the truth of her past…
She had always been a maiden disguised as a man,
Wandering the land seeking to find her truest fame.
The ghosts were memories, beyond her command,
Trying thus to light her way like some guiding flame.
She had lost her memory, when struck in a battle…
Where she slew a male Ronin, stealing his jewelry.
This was where he fell, uttering a loud death rattle!
He fell into that hot spring, in a gruesome indignity.
There lay his corpse, with his jewelry so returned!
Nothing was left here to be done except, to leave.
And so, the lady Ronin left him dead, and burned,
Walking away from her crime, with a sigh of relief.
She needed not those accursed baubles, that bad,
So the warrior woman returned to the town’s inn.
The jewelry became cursed, and drove men mad,
Because of one lady Ronin and her forgotten sin!
In the winter of a certain year, a Ronin wandered lost,
Amidst the woodlands of the Nara region’s borders…
Without a lord to serve, nor a sponsor to pay the cost.
No one could say what thoughts in such a heart stirs…
But he wandered onward, and after a time was found,
When a solitary maiden, chanced upon his errant path.
Yet she was strange; her feet touched not the ground!
She lashed out at him with cruel claws, and red wrath.
But each time she slashed at him, she passed through,
Like a ghost out of legend, insubstantial as is a dream!
The warrior jumped back, not believing this was true,
And in that instant the maiden began to shrilly scream.
It was then the Ronin noticed a nearby fresh spring…
Hot amidst the cold air: its’ waters the color of blood.
Within it was some jewelry: a necklace and ruby ring,
Not far from which lay a fork-like branch of wood…
Which the warrior used: to retrieve those two baubles.
As they cooled in the snow, the maiden disappeared,
But that was not the end, of all the warrior’s troubles.
Had he known the truth, he would have truly feared!
The Ronin wore the necklace and the ring, and soon,
He walked into a nearby town, hoping to rest easy…
Whilst night descended, and out came the full moon.
It was too soon to be safe, too soon for any victory!
Removing his helmet, he noticed his face changed…
Feminine, and beautiful, like that of a porcelain doll.
It was that maiden’s face; the maid he now became!
He let out a scream; it was her voice that, did call…
As the innkeeper rushed, to see him as he now was.
Thinking the Ronin must have been female before…
But in disguise, the innkeeper made not further fuss.
Even when the lady warrior fled, out the inn’s door!
Running back to the place, where the spring did lie,
To cast the necklace and the ring back to the water.
But doing so did not cause this enchantment to die!
Now and ever more he was no son, but a daughter.
Fearing he was possessed: by the maiden, he acted,
Unsheathing his sword in order to end his very life…
But in the last minutes his resolve was so distracted.
Nearby lay a dead Ronin slain by some act of strife!
Reaching out to touch the dead warrior, just to see,
The living Ronin’s hands passed through it so fast…
And then her memory returned, setting her will free.
The lady Ronin remembered, the truth of her past…
She had always been a maiden disguised as a man,
Wandering the land seeking to find her truest fame.
The ghosts were memories, beyond her command,
Trying thus to light her way like some guiding flame.
She had lost her memory, when struck in a battle…
Where she slew a male Ronin, stealing his jewelry.
This was where he fell, uttering a loud death rattle!
He fell into that hot spring, in a gruesome indignity.
There lay his corpse, with his jewelry so returned!
Nothing was left here to be done except, to leave.
And so, the lady Ronin left him dead, and burned,
Walking away from her crime, with a sigh of relief.
She needed not those accursed baubles, that bad,
So the warrior woman returned to the town’s inn.
The jewelry became cursed, and drove men mad,
Because of one lady Ronin and her forgotten sin!
Published 1st Jul 2012
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1st Jul 2012 12:47pm
4th Jul 2012 3:56am
My thanks! Myths and legends are powerful things, and can be great tools by which people can teach lessons, as with parables, or even windows through which we can view an era or a time long gone. When the seed of a legend is sprinkled with a realistic essense, it can wholly capture one's imagination and truly transport the reader into the world of the legend itself, after a fashion. The core of myth making, is all of that and more. Like a flower, it blooms into something grand, if we allow it to. Such is the power of myth, and why such things are so important to the human condition. Thanks for taking the time to comment, it was highly appreciated! :)
