Enemies

Besides the defender, emancipator,
the samurai manifested by fortune conquers
each rival in the branded earth,
awaiting fundamental disclosure of their choices.
A solitary fighter, discovers the enemy within,
he twists and thrashes away, opposing the ocean.

The guardian and warrior, upon swallows of tides,
wrestles the rebels as dragons on fire,
flinging their swords in armor of Imperial ranks.
Like a farmer in arms, the single combatant
clashes with a barbarian over boundary lines,
defeating his foe since he is a true noble.


(2007. This was written for a local poetry challenge.)