A Land Far Away

Poetry, stories, and art related to the Kozakuran samurai Kiyoko Tamahi.

Nicely done!

Sharp-tongued and sharp-eyed
A trusty bow at my side
A friend at my back

The river of time flows on
Leaves caught in its currents
Tossed here and there with scant regard for anything but the present.

It was ill-met to meet a samurai in the snow.

The bee is very small
But ferocious when provoked
And yet it still dies.

Under the cherry blossoms, so long ago
You spoke to me of honor and duty
And a family's bonds,
By turns golden and base,
Velvet and iron.

Under the cherry blossoms, so long ago
You spoke to me of giving one's life
For duty, honor, country--
The Code of the Warrior,
the duty of those who always choose Death.

Under the cherry blossoms, so long ago
You spoke to me of the Oni you would face,
Defying its strength with your own--
The strength of Honor
Against the strength of a beast, a monster.

Under the cherry blossoms, so long ago
I heard of how you met your end
Of how your Reitenseiya, blade of the Starless Night
Cut down the Oni as his own cut you down in turn,
And how it fell to me to reclaim what was lost.

Under the cherry blossoms, so long ago
I vowed to reclaim the fabled Tamahi blade
And to live up to my duty, the chains of family pride,
The iron to choose Death as all samurai choose,
Living for that which is greater than myself.

Under the cherry blossoms, so long ago.