Great Sacrifice

Their faces smiled down at me as I trembled on the floor,
Their hands were cold and rough as they pulled me out the door.
Their voices called my name and told me I’d be fine,
Their eyes were hard and calculating and told me death would soon be mine.

They tied me to a tree above an old forgotten grave,
Then my mother walked towards me and told me to be brave.
More people stood around me as they sang an eerie prayer,
Then my mother raised the knife and all I did was stare.

I knew what was coming; I knew I should scream,
But in the end I hoped it was all just a dream.
I felt the cold metal slice through my bare skin,
What have I done to deserve such a sin?

The blood was flowing freely now and my chest began to ache,
I was holding back a scream and my body began to shake.
My mother raised the knife and I heard a child shout,
Then my sister ran towards me, her face full of doubt.

She knew I was dying at the hands of our mother,
Though she hoped I would live, unlike our poor brother.
He died just a year ago, tied to this tree,
He died with the hope that someday we would be free.

I sang to my sister as my life seeped away,
I told her that she would be free one day.
I told her how to travel to a land far away,
I told her she would die if she were to stay.

The people still sang but my voice rang clear,
As I told my dear sister not to fear,
Run my dear sister, run Ebony-Rain,
Do not look back it is all in vain.

For I shall die this day tied to this tree,
But I shall die happy as long as you’re free.
I watched as my sister ran far away,
I watched until I began to sway.

I was too weak I could no longer stand,
I knew it was my time to leave this land.
I closed my eyes never again to see the light of day,
I could rest now knowing my sister was far away.