Eternity’s Song Walk with me forever Stroll along with me… For ever walk there Darling... Through out eternity. Love that’s freely given Never goes away or dies… A love like this forever Lives... When I look into your eyes. Gone, but never parted When you walk along with me.. Forever walking with you In.. That bright eternity. Maria Lindberg Copyright 2002 The Man in the Tower He was suddenly awake. It was like that every morning… No slowly drifting into the here and now, as before… But just suddenly awake... He walked to the crevice that served as a window; He breathed deeply of the morning air, His eyes hungrily searched the tiny bit of land he could see, Just over the tops of the trees. It was as if he could see something beyond the rolling hills... His inner eye would search For a house…a face…that he could only picture in his heart. The cool morning air made him feel alive for a few moments… He was lost in memories of a life now gone…He could picture their home…. He knew every room in that house, Every nail, every board,every stone... He could see her there; Her beautiful face full of light. He could almost hear her singing As she tended their son... Her long hair bound as custom demanded. He could see The way it streamed down her back When she was alone with him, And he could almost smell its fragrance.... Feel its softness... But not today…He thought… She won’t be there today… She won’t be singing today… He Sighed.. He thought about the land he loved… the generations that had lived there… He must convince her for their sons sake… The lands and title were his now… Or would be, After today.. He pushed this thought aside… He had only today.. Just today.. It was like a verse running through his mind… Today…I only have today… The refrain ran through the very core of him.. As if a river was about to over take him… Cold and swift and rushing… Threatening to drown him at any minute… The thought came unbidden… The same as when he awoke this morning... Just suddenly there... "Tomorrow I will die.." He was not afraid to die; A knight was never afraid to die… But it was the injustice that wearied his mind And the thought he would never see her again, At least in this life.. His lady, His wife… Her name on his lips brought a longing so deep, It almost doubled him over in physical pain. If he could just gaze in her eyes one last time… Oh, those incredible blue eyes… If he could just hold her close to him… And hear the lilting of her voice As she spoke words of love to him.... “Just once!" Let me see her just once!” He cried, His words echoed on the cold stone walls of the tower… But he was not to be given even that small solace… No…not even that… Never again in this life... Would he see her face or his son or his home.. Tomorrow at dawn…The executioners axe would fall and he would die… And for what reason? The King wanted her…It was as simple as that…And now he would have her.. He was my friend, he thought over and over… I served him well and with honor… And that he could do this thing… The pain was almost unbearable.. "My friend, he cried...He was my friend!" He was not the Lord I knew and loved. He had changed. What sorcery had afflicted him? Could a man change this much in so short a time? I loved him as a brother...I knew him as I knew myself… But now…I know him not… He was entitled to all because he was KING… "God’s image on earth," or so he said.. And he wanted her.. He wanted the land... He would have them both now… He had accused him of treason to the crown.. No proclamations of treachery and betrayal Could make this lie be true… That was one comfort…He knew it was a lie… She knew it was a lie… The King knew it was a lie… He had done nothing to betray him… Nothing.. He told himself…I must not think of that… I must not…or I shall scream…and I must not die with a scream on my lips… I will die as I have lived, with honor… I will do this for her…for our love…for our child. I will do this… I have only today… He turned from the crevice in the tower wall… His face was gently sorrowed…filled with lines Not there a few months ago… He was unkept, and for someone who prided himself On his immaculate dress… This was a stinging reminder of how fast his life had changed… Just that fast... In the blink of an eye… His once white silk shirt…was in tatters now… The smell of his own body was an affront to his very being… His leggings were in shreds, And hardly recognizable as such any more… They barely covered his nakedness… At least, he thought…She would never see me like this.. And at this moment, He seemed to draw what comfort he could From the small things... Resolutely… He sat down at the small table in the room in the tower... It served as desk, table and a place of refuge, Where he would write to her every day. Letters he hoped she would get after his death… The priest responsible for his soul Had promised it would be done..… He could only hope when she received them… She would be comforted in some way… She had to go on…She had to… It was all he could take with him… That she was safe from harm… That and their love… Death and the finality of it overwhelmed his mind.. In battle he never thought of death… But here, alone, today, He thought of nothing else... “My darling,” He wrote… You must go on… Know that I will always love you. And...Our time together Was all that made life worth living for me… And even as I say this And mean it with my whole heart; For your own safety and that of our child… You must marry him after I am gone… You must do this for me, My love, you must..… Think of our child… That is what is important now. Do this one last thing for me... I beg of you, my darling,Please...Do this for me.. This marriage is a thing apart, A matter of lands and kingdoms And desire..… Not of love…Not as our love… Not of all we have shared… For all we are to each other…For all we were… For all we could have been… Agree to the marriage…Let me die in peace… Give me this one thing... It is not the dying that scares me my love, But that you will be in danger after I am gone. I know I will never hold you again In this life… But know this: I will take you in my heart… I will take our love with me always; And some how, some way, in some lifetime, I will find you again. A Love like ours never dies… This I promise you… The body may die my darling, But never the love… So look for me… Surely God will let us find one another… I will wait for you… This I promise… And... Remember me, As I will remember you... Until that day.. I press you to my heart… I will love you always, James… The Next Day... They bathed and shaved and dressed him in his armor. “Proper for a knight of the KING…” He thought. He walked into the courtyard.. . He stood there all alone…tall and proud.. He saw her standing in the crowd… He saw her face one last time… Saw her lips form the words "I will love you always".. He whispered her name… The executioners axe fell... She screamed….. He was walking along a shoreline. How he got here, he didn’t know, But a feeling of utter peace and contentment filled his soul… The day was so perfect it was like it was made for him… He looked towards the horizon… And saw how the sky seemed to melt into the water… The blue of the water reminded him of something.. But what? He felt a cooling breeze on his face… And the sound of lapping water filled his heart With some kind of peaceful music... Not music as he knew it, but music all the same.... ”What was it about a river” he thought… ”Something about a river and today.” He stood there for several minutes Watching the waves rush to the shore, Trying to remember who he was And how he got here and what that had to do with today… He seemed to be waiting for something... Or someone… He was aware of her presence before he saw her.. He turned at a sound coming from down the shore… He looked into the distance... And he saw her walking towards him… Closer and closer she came.. She was so beautiful and so filled with light... His eyes could barely believe it..Then, he heard her singing… ”That voice, I know that voice,” he thought… He walked to meet her, and as their hands touched, He looked into her eyes, her incredible blue eyes... And she smiled.. Then He remembered… Oh, at last he remembered… ”What took you so long?” he laughed. As they embracedHe was filled with the joy of comming home..In her arms he was home at last...And he knew then... That home wasn't a piece of land, Or a house of stone.. It was here, with her..He knew he had found her again… They were HOME... The promise of love never dying was fulfilled; And as they walked in quiet solitude, He knew they had Today.. . Tomorrow And Eternity… Maria Lindberg Copyright 2002 ~~Magic Note~~ Have you ever been somewhere...You have never been before...And seemd to know this place...Have you walked down a street...And knew what was around the next corner...Haveing never walked that street before?Have you ever walked into a strange roomAnd yetYou knew it so well? This happend to me in LondonIn this room in a towerI knew this room..This place..this timeI knew the man in the towerI could see him...Feel him...And this is his story ~~Maria~~