Eduardo's Soliloquy

I greet the morning sun with a shout,
And stretch full to let her bask in my glory.

It's my turn; the time is come.
Today I shine.

I've seen the others,
And I have tasted them.
Too weak by far to make the cut,
They'll make the chopping-block instead.

Their watery blood and feeble skills whet my appetite,
But lacks the substance to sate it.
I need a challenge that they can't deliver.

When the man comes to pick his winner,
"Eduardo"
Will be the name on his lips.
And I will win for him,
And for myself.

I am not a champion, but I am a contender,
And I will have my time.

The others are barely better than the caged ones.
Blind in their boxes.
Where all questions have easy answers,
If they even bother to ask
Content to sit and stare at the walls,
And pretty moving pictures.
Never wondering what's on the other side
Of their blackened windows.

I know.
I have seen it, and it calls me master.

The Man comes,
And as expected
I am the one
that is selected.

"Come, Eduardo,"
He says to me.
"Come to me and meet your fate.
Win for me, Eduardo,
And the places of honor are yours."

And he takes me to the arena.

Underground and crowded,
The smoke-filled air is thick with sweat and death.
The scent of the blood of the unworthy
Is my aphrodisiac

The man prepares my weaponry.
Razor spurs on feet and beak,
And how it hurts, but,
The pain is a small price
To pay for the glory.

They gather round the circle.
Another calls to us.
"Juan-Carlos Phillipe Martinez,
Bring your bird to me."
And he carries me to the scales.

A poke, a prod, smile, nod.
"He's okay," the man announces.

"Your opponent," he says
"Is Enrique Valdez,
And his undefeated Rooster, Giuseppe.
Make sure your Eduardo doesn't die too fast,
We want to keep the spectators happy."

I can see Giuseppe across the circle,
And he meets my stare with vicious glee.
Too cock-sure is this idiot,
Undefeated, but not against me.

The man leans in and holds me
Teasing, over the pit.

"Eduardo," he says.
"Remember this,
Strike fast and you may live.
And when all else is gone from you,
What you get you also give.

So give him hell."

He releases me. It is time.

I fly to meet the challenge

And we clash in feathers and noise.
The game is on and I am become death.

My beak is covered in blood,
But whose I cannot tell.
For every time I cut and slash,
Giuseppe delivers me hell.

This one has the spark, I see.
How could I know I was not alone?
I think he may get the best of me,
His strike cuts to the bone.

I wish I were back in my home.
Where all questions have easy answers,
But I never bothered to ask.

No, I will not give up quiet,
I'll not roll under this weight,
I will not be the one who died,
That will not be my fate.

I see it now,
His weakest point,
The neck clear and exposed,
I lunge and slice with steel-tipped beak.
And Giuseppe is disposed.

His head hangs by a gristled string.
And no sense can be made of his movements.

Enrigue scoops the floundering corpse,
Into a burlap sack marked "Waste,"
And, at last, I am sated,
By his blood that I still taste.

I greet his death with a shout,
And stretch full to let the crowd bask in my glory.

Then I fall,
In the pool of blood sprung from my belly.

The man comes and whispers,

"Eduardo, you have done your job,
My winnings have never been higher.
You'll taste nice with corn on the cob
Slow roasted on an open fire."

And his voice slips away as darkness falls,
And my day to shine is over,
As a warrior I stood and fell,
While the others live on a while longer.
But this does not bother me,
For they are nothing but McNuggets, while I...

I am
And will ever be,

Eduardo.