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                                If today I feel abandoned by
                                my grit, if the tides of
                                Ipra Certh suddenly reverse,
                                if a ruthless quake should crush
                                my spine, I will be beholden
                                to happenstance—though I've
                                never accepted such things
                                as random acts.

                                                              I’ve lived the time of scars,
                                                              when lampblack virulence
                                                              dripped its stain upon paladin
                                                              hearts forged in purity, and I
                                                              became that otherness—a
                                                              torn tapestry.

                                But I shall never be ended,
                                deftly invincible to ruthless
                                slayers aiming to sever me
                                from my innermost
                                communion.

                                                               I find the West Coast sunsets
                                                               more to my liking, where
                                                               offshore winds speak with
                                                               clarity.

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