Author's Note: This poem is from the point of view of a random soldier in Baldwin's army as he contemplates the loss of Jacob's Ford. Historically, this was a battle lost before it was fought. Scores were killed before the reinforcement arrived, and by the time they arrived, it had been too late. This event is shown in more detail in my book 'The Last King of Legends: The Sovereign Gambit'.
Smoke ascended into the heavens.
We were too late.
Standing atop a hill, setting sunlight glittered on the full army of armor knights.
No horse moved forward to reclaim the land that was our own,
for before us lay the ruins the castle of Jacob's Ford--
the castle never completed before it saw destruction.
No groans or cries ascended into the heavens.
Only the crackling of the fire broke the heavy silence.
We were too late.
My gaze wandered to the armored king, who sat unmoved on his mount
with the weight of all those dead on his shoulders.
He had declined the bribes offered by the enemy
who demanding the castle's construction be stopped.
He stood in defiance against the most powerful sultan in the land,
yet it was a calculated defiance.
Any man with knowledge of war knew
the importance of the castle and its strategic location.
They said this castle would never fall.
The King himself had placed an army half a day's journey away
if an attack ever chanced about this place--
half a day too late.
Lifting his mail-chained gloved hand, the King signaled a retreat.
My eyes shifted back to the smothering remnants of the fortress.
No hope for survivors.
No need for more bloodshed.
This battle had been decided.
I caught the King looking back
as if he made a silent oath.
Our eyes locked but for a moment
then I looked away.
This was a battle already lost;
he had no need to see how it pained me to walk away,
for he suffered that and much more,
for at his command did the people died,
and at his command did we leave them there.
YOU ARE READING
King Baldwin IV
Historical FictionYear 1174, a boy at age thirteen is suddenly thrust into power upon the death of his father, King Amalric. He inherits a kingdom at war--the Kingdom of Jerusalem. However, he possesses a secret. He is dying of leprosy. Knowing he could be cast out o...
