The Way

The Way of the Samurai is found in death,

Meditation on an inevitable end should be performed everyday,

When one’s body and mind are at peace, ‘till last breath,

One should meditate upon being ripped apart, limb from limb away.

By arrows, rifles, spears and swords, with whips to flay,

Shaken to dust by tremendous earthquakes, thrown into the mist of ferocious fire,

Carried away by surging waves, left to decay on an island as a castaway,

Asphyxiated, strung up by a geisha, climaxed under garrote lyre wire.

Bred by way of a thousand year code, to protect a single hire,

Embody frugality, loyalty, martial mastery, and honour, even if it meant suicide,

Prolonged wars led to the death of my master, so I set the same date to expire,

Seppuku was to determine if I lived out my life as man, with pride.

This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai,

Transcend death to fully live life, unravel fears hidden under guise.