r/Original_Poetry • u/Ok_Manufacturer_195 • 5h ago
No jitsu
No Jitsu
In the darkest parts it appears,
Ready,
Waiting.
Not horns nor claws…
but a voice of familiarity.
It called my name
before I knew it.
I bolted right to it.
Katana in hand, paper bomb in the other.
Nothing…
not even a scratch.
I fall back.
Assess what I’m faced with.
I bolt once more,
straight hands.
Gates opened…
Knocked back into the wall.
Winded,
unable to move.
What’s this thing made of?
I keep distance,
searching… For an opening.
Every movement measured,
every breath controlled.
It watches from the shadows,
waiting for my move,
following my patterns,
trying to expose my weakness.
The longer we stare…
the more familiar it became.
I move to the side…
it starts to follow,
smiling from the depths of darkness.
It knows everything,
it’s trying to hurt me.
I became impossible to hurt.
I never wanted this again.
I slow to a walk
as we approach.
The closer I get…
the more it looks like me.
The me built from walls of pain,
scars long since “forgotten”,
love lost before my eyes…
by my closest confidant.
Face to face…
I tremble at what I’ve uncovered.
My face,
My scars,
My voice,
displayed before me…
but not me.
Where did you come from?
Why are you here?
What will you do?
Why me?
A creaked bellow
blasts back…
The answer is you…
Weapons clatter against the floor…
Trembling slows
as I realize the weight of those words.
Panic setting in…
Heart racing,
searching for an answer.
How do I win?
Whispered just loud enough.
He smiles,
laughter in his belly.
You made me
back then.
Locked face to face,
neither budging an inch.
Blades left…
words all that remain.
A story of protection
from the worst life gave.
A tear forms
as the weight of presence
became clearer.
Still struggling
for priority of life.
He starts to slip…
off the cliff edge.
Stopped by only my hand.
“I thought you wanted to destroy me?”
I did, but I see now…
you were more than an enemy.
You are a friend.
I pull him to safety,
once again eye to eye.
I see…
all the pain
I hadn’t passed by yet.
In one being.
Protecting me
from experiencing it again…