The Missing Champion

Not having you before me,

to defend me,

wounds me—

slices straight through my core,

stings worse

than the swords and daggers

you left me exposed to.

You shielded me

from the blows of my world.

Now I brace for the impact

of arrows and gunshots,

each one piercing

my thin, unprotected skin.

You were my chainmail—

no more.

You whispered strategies

into my ear,

showed me the places

my enemy was weak.

Now I am blinded,

left out in the open

to be captured and bound

by his ropes,

tortured by water—

drop by drop.

With you beside me,

I felt strong enough

to wield the heaviest sword

against the fearsome giant,

to defend myself

when needed.

But I never had to—

not until now.

You bandaged my wounds

so I could keep going.

Now I must rise again,

alone this time—

apprehensive,

to rejoin the never-ending war

that waits for me at home.