The Watcher Joins the Game

The stairs stopped being stairs below, Though none could tell you where, Three Giants climbed through crooked stone And found somebody there. A statue with a foolish cap, A beard of ancient stone, Wide eyes that never blinked at all, As if they watched alone. And somewhere near, and somewhere through, A shadow learned to breathe. A voice of many voices spoke From somewhere underneath. Come, little watcher, Come take your place. The Game has begun Behind the face. Come, little watcher, Don't turn away. Seven doors are waiting, Seven Games to play. There is a Rock that holds the line, There is a hand that mends, There is a blade that walks unseen And slips between the ends. WAR strikes hard. HEL reaches far. SIN moves where shadows are. Rock breaks the blade, The blade cuts the cloth, The cloth covers rock— And nobody wins. [Whispered voices:] Nobody wins. Nobody wins. Nobody— [Drums return.] The cards are dealt, The Essence shines, The laughter fills the room. A Game can still be beautiful While standing next to doom. So take your seat, And take your turn, And wear the shape you're given. A Giant shapes. A Fae will change. A Soul observes from hidden distance. But something shifts Between the forms— A shadow without name. And when the watcher takes the board, The watcher joins the Game.