Forgotten

In the quiet of an ancient wood
At a long forgotten gate
Of a once proud castle now in ruin
A lone knight as sentry stands
His sword held at the ready
Frozen mid-swing
He who was once a living man
Now is no more that stone
Trapped under a terrible curse
By a fearsome enemy

A relic of a long-ago war
The knight remains at his post
As the days pass into months
And the months pass into years
And the years pass then into centuries
The day of his birth goes uncelebrated
As lost to time as the stone knight
With only sun, moon and stars
And the gathering growth around him
To mark the passage of time

Even as the overgrowth slowly and surely
Begins to retake the gate he guards
And vines begin to crawl up his legs
The knight still remains
Until feet begin to tread
Upon the lost and winding path
To the fallen castle’s ruins
Watched over by a single stone sentry
A young prince comes upon the sight
Long thought to be no more than legend

The prince pulls the vines and weeds
From the stone figure that stands before him
As he clears the growth from the knight
The prince greets the man before him
And makes a solemn promise
“Happy birthday to you my brother.
You will never spend another birthday
Locked away and forgotten.
I will find a way to free you from this curse
Before this day comes around again.”