Dedicated to Kalandra Jolin, Emissary of the Muses

Ballad of a Knight (Serenade to KJ)

This story begins in an ancient land
Where dragons truly crawl
It comes to prove that in every knight
There lies a human soul

Our hero grew up in the court
So proud and wise of words
And in the mornings he would
Train and practice wooden swords

To the eyes of ladies he would train
And practice all day forth
And ladies he would never meet
Had watched him, south and north

And as our boy grew to adultry
And picked a true steel sword
His smile was gentle and his eyes were sweet
A quick man of the word

And as he grew he put his eyes
On a damsel dressed in white
Her smile bedazzling and her eyes
Were blue and warm and bright

And this is how the story starts
In a land where dragons bite
It serves to prove of nothing but
The soul beneath the knight

Our hero vowed to fame her name
To bring her pride and gold
And every time his name was spoke
Kalandra's Knight he would be called

And so he set into the wild
And people spread the word
Kalandra's Knight, the just and brave
Would help them with his sword

And years flew by and fame he earned
And tales were being told
About the knight and his lady love
And how he's just and bold

And now the story will entangle
Our hero the bold and right
Because this is a story about
The soul beneath the knight

The years have passed and age had come
Kalandra grew a bit old
Her sight had dimmed, her lips grew pale
Her skin began to fold

And our knight, the brave and just,
Fell for another lass
Her skin was smooth, her cheeks were straight
Her smile could fade the grass

And so our lady Kalandra the old
Had been forgotten from heart
And only the crickets remembered her name
But they just leaped and dart

But if you think that this is how
Our story comes to end
Well let me tell you - you are wrong
There's more than this, my friend

'Cause our knight had chosen wrong
His lady was no doll
And as he spent his nights with her
Some demons flared his soul

So disappointed and enraged
He left her without word
And as he drew his blade again
The rust had stained his sword.

Hopeless and quite desperate
He set to cross the sea
To find a lass he truly loved
For everyone to see

And so he met with the hotheaded
Onboard a swan boat's deck
And as he saw her smile the first
His heart would pound and ache

But if you think that that's enough
The story is at end
I fear my friend you are misled
And you can not pretend

For even at the redhead's bed
Or fighting in a brawl
Our knight could never really soothe
His aching human soul

To gold and glory he has aimed
And held a rusty sword
But when he tried to tell his heart
He lacked even a word

The redhead was hotheaded yes
But she was true and pretty
And everyone could never grasp
Our knight's depressed self-pity

And one day he just had enough
With pains and aching spirit
And now he knew what wrong he did
And what must be to cure it

And this is where the story folds
And once again reclaims
This is not just a fairytale
It speaks of unhealed maims

Again our hero crossed the sea
In speed of dragon's flight
To find the cure for his true pains
The wounded soul of a knight

To Lonely Tower he had climbed
To see her but once more
And Lady Kalandra was up there
Her heart was now offshore

But as our gallant knight of true
Apologized and turned
Her smile came back at speed of light
Her beauty had returned

And once again our knight had set
To fame his lady's nest
And everybody heard her name
From east to south and west

And as he once again would fight
In name of his true love
His wounded soul was once again
A free and healthy dove

And as he healed he once again
Was just and wise of word
And by some magic undefined
The rust came off his sword

And this is it and that was that
You see, my dear old friend
We came about, the way it was
Our story is at end

Because unlike in the stories past
Where heroes served the light
We now discover at this point
There's man in every knight

Imperfect as you might just be
And not so slick of word
Remember always that a knight
Is but a human with a sword

Ehud Gat - 20th October, 2003