What Memory

The tide erased the blood and grief…
The years rewrote what we believed…
We came again to that quiet deep…
To find what memory chose to keep…
The shore looked smaller in the sun
The tide had softened what we had done
Black stones lay harmless by the foam
Here wolf and raven fought for home
Two strangers crossed through salt and flame
Each swore the other bore the blame
The years had changed the wounds we knew
And left us each a different truth…
Memory lies with a beautiful tongue
It makes us fearless, foolish, young
It blunts the blade and moves the scar
Then brings the vanished years from far
You keep the victory, I keep the fall
Neither of us remembers it all
But through each version, one truth persists
Love began where the first blow missed
I drew my sword;
The crew drew near
The quiet shore filled up with cheers
My shoulders knew the ancient game
My pride still edited the blame
I caught his steel and stepped aside
The years had slowed him, not his pride
One sweep returned him to the sand
Then laughter joined our weathered hands
We wore our stories like old mail
Each dent concealed a different tale…
Memory brightens rust to gold
Makes every stumble brave and bold
It crowns the fool, forgives the vain
Turns blood and salt to gentle rain
You keep the courage, I keep the kiss
We built a lifetime out of this
No witness owns the truth of scars
The life that followed made it ours
Had one true victor left that shore
Perhaps our hearts had learned no more
No perfect witness now remains
Only two smiles beneath old names
The past may change each time it’s told
But love is what the years still hold
Let memory bend!
Let memory burn
We are the truth the years returned
Not who struck first, not who fell
But who stayed long enough to tell
The blades are rust, the clans are gone
Yet old and laughing, we carry on
Let youth keep glory, rage, and risk
We keep the love born from a miss
The tide erased each mark and scar…
The ship was waiting where we are…
The past was never one true tale…
But love survived where memories failed