A Job Well Done

An old man heads to the cemetery

To pay his respects to his grandson,

Who was a guard

In the Royal Family.

Approaching the grave,

He said thus:

“Ah my son, Graitus,

How are you now?

The King has given your family

A thousand jewels

To compensate for your passing—

For a job well done.”

Grandpa bows his head

As if in shame

And ponders the past,

Wondering if he could have

Avoided his grandson’s death;

Although he knew

That such a thought

Was against God’s wishes,

But he wanted his Graitus back.

“Your mother and father miss you,

Oh Graitus,

And so does your sister.

Your grandmother cries herself to sleep

Every night,

Wondering,

Waiting for your return—

For you to embrace her once more.”

The old man pauses,

Grips the bouquet in his hands,

As a tear drips down his cheek.

“And me?” he said, voice rising.

“Me? What do I want?

What do I pray for?

Graitus, my precious son,

I pray that you return to me –

To us –

Safe and sound,

And tell us

That you were never really gone.”

He pauses again—

Inhales—

“No doubt it was a job well done,

But does money make us any richer?

Oh Graitus, it does not—

Never does!

We want you back, Graitus!”

The old man places the bouquet down

On the grave,

As rage wells up

Inside his tormented mind.

“Graitus! Oh, Graitus—

What did you do

To earn such a gruesome death?”

A wind blows towards him,

His hair dances in it.

He sighs.

“Well, I suppose,

It is best that you are gone,

Into the lap of the Creator,

Where you belong.

“It was a job well done.

You should know

That the princess has another to protect her,

But she comes by the house

To see we are doing well.

“She is a fine girl.

She cares, she does.

She misses you an awful lot,

As do the rest of us.

“Graitus, my son,

You slew that dragon

To keep her safe

This shall never be forgotten—

Of that we shall make certain.

“It was a job well done—

Well done, Graitus!”

He sighs in sudden pleasure

That has taken over his heart,

As he pictures his only grandson

In the company of the Revered Creator.

He raises his voice

And shouts,

Delight welling up in his heart:

“Yes, Graitus, it was a job well done!”