Dwindling Knight by Michael Keshigian

Life loomed large in childhood,

an acre, easily a mile, the apple tree, 

a spectacle of gigantic dimensions,

germinating fruit the size of melons

amid grass and wildflowers higher than a house

and alive with as much mystery 

as the imagination allowed,

infested with long legged creatures and flying predators,

confronted by a brave soldier, 

possessing stout heartiness,

armed with broken branch sword,

trash lid shield and brown bagged helmet gear

precisely slit for covert surveillance

against an enemy constantly plotting 

to overthrow the king, to rule the kingdom,

were it not for the worthy defender

daily engaging danger to insure security

and safe passage for those nesting 

within the domain,

though the threat diminished with passing years

as did the proportions to a mediocre backyard, 

displaying a frail fruit tree

in grass no taller than ankle height

with no visible reminders of intense conflicts.

The enemy had disappeared,

deployed, no doubt, to younger battlefields,

accompanied by the imagination 

now desperately clinging to creative output

to preserve a degree of youthful enthusiasm

for an aging warrior.

Michael Keshigian had his fourteenth poetry collection, What To Do With Intangibles, recently released in January, 2020 by Cyberwit.net.  He has been published in numerous national and international journals, recently including Pudding Magazine, Sierra Nevada Review, Oyez Review, Bluepepper, Tipton Poetry Journal, and has appeared as feature writer in twenty publications with 7 Pushcart Prize and 2 Best Of The Net nominations. (michaelkeshigian.com)