Bertilak's Kiss

On Camlann, where the final battle's fought
Gawain recalls the kiss of Bertilak
like whispered steel against his neck. He'd thought
to die there, but the Green Man gave him back
the life he'd forfeited. Now, facing death
Gawain tastes terror, acid in the throat
ripped raw already by his panting breath.
He stands at bay by Camlann's blood-filled moat.

Night on the battlefield; Gawain lies dead
his limbs and armor broken in the mud,
and Bertilak is weeping emerald blood.
Too well-loved to be left for crows, the head
of Arthur's knight hangs from the Green Man's hand.
Gawain will live when spring comes to the land.

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