Fragments of a 13th-Century Thuringian Parchment
The premise of this story is neither complex nor lavish,
A demon and a swordsman meet on a dark, empty plain,
The burly swordsman wants to kill, maim and vanquish,
The demon wants to chat, commune and explain.
***
"I do not trust your lies," roared the swordsman, dumb as a board,
"but what hellish armies lurk in the spreading darkness yonder?
And the demon thought for a moment as the warrior raised his sword,
"No armies at all," hissed the hellspawn. "Just a big, old, ancient mirror."
***
The swordsman had killed infidels, blackamoors and Saracens,
A Christian Crusader he was, hating those who didn't look and pray like him,
But the demon spoke about his sin of murdering those full of innocence,
"Just because they're different,
