No family ties to make me stay,
no personal connections.
No links to past times slow me down
or give pause for reflection.
No clannish feelings do relate;
no kinship claims upon me.
Depart I must, for sanity,
and for all things I hold dearly.

In ages old my forebears lived
in hovels dark and dirty.
An unkempt life, but common so,
and no one lived past thirty.
The landsmen practiced treachery
on one and all surrounding.
No press of force cxould stave them off;
their blood was in the hounding.

But times do change, and often so,
the down-trod masses seething.
In time the uproar took it's toll
and left the rich ones bleeding.
But nouveau riche does not include
an instant understanding
of all involved of governing,
or who's to do the planting.

As times wore on, we came to naught,
for inside fighting plagued us.
We'd rather swallow our own swords
than bow to another mans truss.
So mired in the moment of finding a path
that all can be proud to achieve.
Rampant confusion has tied all in knots,
and I thoroughly wanted to leave.

Then came the fighting, such bitter fighting,
that certain factions brought to bear.
The power seekers of once friendly wards
became greedy and unwilling to share.
The underdog soon had my kinsmen's support,
as well as a good many others.
But as well as we fought we were not long in losing,
and losing meant death to our brothers.

That sealed the fate of any man who bespoke
to have all warring parties enjailed.
So escaping the commons, would seem quite the best,
for 'twould be instant death if you failed.
The landlords, it seems, were our first enemies,
but there soon came to be another one.
For we found, in the taking, of land and, our making,
that the bastards were our own mother's sons.

So this journey I make has a purpose,
and for now, that I am safe, is enough.
I will find, God willing, a land not so anxious
to gaze in the smear of my blood.
Though my old ways, and "friends" are far behind,
and the distance is greater this day,
I'll return, in my time, to avenge those I lost,
and rewrite the last chapter my way.




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