The Quest
By Mark Terence Chapman, © 2006
He swung his mighty Sword of Pain,
at the ogre fierce.
It cleaved the enemy in twain,
his black heart did it pierce.
Sir Dessamore was heading west,
a maiden fair to save.
A promise had him on a quest,
through valley, hill and cave.
He swore that he would get her back,
no matter what it took.
Still, six long months on Durzey's track,
his confidence it shook.
Past ogres great and rocs in flight,
he fought his way through all.
Maid Mary was his one true light,
and so he wouldn't fall.
Through fire, fog, and dark of night,
he persevered. At last!
His enemy, Sir Durzey stood,
and so the die was cast.
They fought with skill, they fought with flair.
They cut with mighty strokes.
They fought for hours, ‘til the very
air itself awoke,
with crashes, clangs, and noise galore.
The sleepy glade was rent,
with sounds of battle—smell of gore—
yet neither man was spent.
They fought in glade; they fought at height;
until the sun alit.
The fight raged on into the night,
but neither man knew quit.
Our hero fell; he slipped in dew.
It looked like he was done.
Prince Durzey raised his sword to hew;
he knew that he had won.
Sir Dessamore, had but one chance;
he thrust with all his strength.
His broadsword shot up like a lance;
and buried to its length.
Prince Durzey froze, his face in shock.
The life spark left his eyes.
His body toppled off the rock,
never to arise.
Dessamore, no strength had he;
called Mary to his side.
She came to him upon the lea,
in short to be his bride.
Their wedding news flew far and wide;
the cheers rang in the rafters.
Sir Dessamore at Mary's side,
was happy ever after.
THE END
After the usual creative writing classes in college, Mark went into the business world. For the next quarter-century his only writing was business-related nonfiction. In 1995, his book on the OS/2 operating system ( OS/2 Power User's Reference ) was published by McGraw-Hill. In 2005, he ghost-wrote half of Exploring IBM Server & Storage Technology, 6 th Edition . In between, he wrote dozens of technical white papers.
In 1997, Mark wrote a short children's book, which started his creative juices flowing again. In 2003, he authored a sci-fi novel, and resumed writing short stories. He wrote a second novel in 2004 and continued writing short stories, SF, poetry, and humor pieces. Several have been published. Mark is currently working on his third novel.
At home, Mark is surrounded by a menagerie, consisting of a wife, a dog, two cats and two daughters (one named Cat—what can he say? A lack of imagination is the hallmark of his writing).
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