Blade (Notevember 2020, #5)

Knife?
This is no mere knife, young man
But a keris!
Not just metal, in this blade, no
But a culture, a people, a history
More than one, in fact
You should know to speak and act
With a little more tact
In a strange place

I apologize
I just thought the dagger looked nice
Almost alive, you know?
Slithering from side to side like a snake
What does it take
To make those ripples in it?

Ripples?
Pamor, we call them
It takes time, and skill
Patience, strength of will
Iron folded with nickel
Materials most malleable, but fickle
(The smith winks)
Like the women of Malay

Looks sharp, I say

Sharp enough to kill
And storied!
Magnificent myths of magic
(Not that you would know them)
This one is yet unstained
But some have battlefield blood ingrained
As much as pamor
– what would you use this one for?

As a letter opener, I admit

(He looks incredulous)
Ah? No!
I think now you want to cause offense!

To open the love letters my girl sends,
I hurry to explain
If anything is to kiss that paper before I do
It must be a thing of great value
No mere knife will suffice
So, what’s the price?

To you, I cannot sell.
Not to a man who makes from my keris
An object of love

(I don’t know what to say, but he does)

When you see her, you tell her from me, lah
Who gave her this gift
(And he wraps it in silk for me)

So you ask me what sort of man gives his sweetheart
A blade for her birthday?
Well, now you know.