The Black Knight

It was a crisp, early fall, late evening; and the very air
seemed alive, crackling with energy, shimmering in the
street-lights’ dim glow, where the colors of trees, bushes,
and parked cars were rich and deep on the deserted
street, with golden highlights on everything… I was
witnessing Shiva’s Dance.

Then it rumbled in the distance, like thunder, then
lightning… louder now, I could see the glow of it’s fiery
breath in the trees… As I turned toward the growing roar,
it rose from the road like a rearing warhorse, clad in black
and chrome armor, closing the distance between us in a
couple of heartbeats, and lighting the underside of
overhanging trees as it raged.

It was barely twenty yards away when I saw them,
mounted on its back… the Black Knight in black leather,
with a red bandanna tied around his forehead, reigning in
his wild, windblown hair, as he held that mighty beast
almost vertical. And arms around his waist, clinging tightly
was Elspeth, or Rapunzel, her long golden braid trailing
out over her shawl of white lace.

As they passed, they both smiled, and that smile seemed
to glow, moon-like in the dark. I quickly turned to watch
as they flew by, wondering when the Black Knight would
finally let that steed drop back to the pavement… But all I
could see was the fire of its rage and the lightning in the
trees, until the fire and the roar finally disappeared in the
distant night.

It was a crisp, early fall, late evening; and the very air
seemed alive, crackling with energy…

–LE