Tantō

I am slender and strong.
Unsheathe me, soundlessly,
see me gleam pale in the warm lamplight.

I long to plunge myself deep
into your tender flesh,
but only by your hand can I be enfolded
in the waters of your life.

Only through the strength of your spirit
can you put the past behind you:
the blood that you have spilled,
the rust I have accumulated.

Only to your calls of need
can I answer with this embrace
that both hurts and heals.

Your gasps and creaking breaths
are yours alone to give.

Know that I, too, have known pain.
I was once of the earth, a shapeless thing
woven into stone,
my audacious lack of purpose unchallenged.

I do not regret the firest that obliterated me,
nor the hammer strikes that rang
until I no longer felt them,
but in your gentle hands I am reminded
of the warmth of the earth's core
and I realize how long I have been a mere instrument,
fulfilling someone else's violent desires.

Take me into you.
Let me join with your beauty in scarlet-and-silver,
as you join with mine.

Let us drink, together,
from a draught of sweet tears
and bitter cheries.