A Hero’s Words to Zelda

 by Peter Chong

In the video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the hero Link tries to rescue Princess Zelda, who is holding the evil Ganon at bay and waiting for the hero to finally put an end to it all.

Those golden, silky threads
And those pointy ears protruding from the sides,
Your name itself, Zelda
Is enough to smite the fears that seek to swallow Hyrule.
You would think the sun to be the source of that radiance.
But that light has always concealed
The calamity looming over your head.
The pressure, a dark force crushing you beneath its dark heels.
His robe, wrapping you up until you suffocate.
That crown, demanding only excellence and perfection.
That crown, being your father.
Meanwhile, I am powerless, only to bow down beneath his feet,
To bend my head in shame as I can only listen to your knees hitting the ground
And teardrops being the only sound to break the silence. 

But I’ve been constructed to expel the parts that show weakness.
To serve the king diligently without question, is what a knight should do.
Even if I feel the slightest vibration in this vacant chest, I brush it off.
I raise my sword when harm wants to drive you deeper into pain
But when it comes time to seal away the demons that reside in your heart
A hero’s sword is worth nothing compared to words that can fix what has come apart 

And I remember our moments by the tree overlooking the castle
As I cut through the air in preparation for what lays ahead.
Nothing could prepare me for the next moment,
When you asked me, why do you stay so silent?
For a moment, I felt like a nonexistent past looped through my mind,
As we would stroll together through the woods
Picking sunshrooms and catching frogs,
It was like the breath of the wild was upon us
But only for a brief second.

For more ideas on “Superhero” poems, check out: http://www.cleavermagazine.com/tag/lynn-levin/