Kimber lea
She ran through the trees on the little dirt path.
On foot, Jacob’s Meadow seemed so very far.
Kimber Lea James, optimistic and hopeful:
The Kingdom was hosting the Lantern Bazaar.
Three years had passed with no festive traditions,
The Strangers had customs and fairs of their own,
And though the relations were seeming more cordial,
The chasm between them had, truthfully, grown.
The leaves from the previous fall made a carpet,
Protecting her hem from the mud and debris,
Ahead was the cobblestone road, and the people,
She hurried to join them: the Maid Kimber Lea.
Where was her sister, her Catherine? She wondered.
And would she be waiting…She tried not to fear.
But Catherine was made as a Kingdom example,
And personally struggled for more than a year.
And all that Kimber Lea could do… was watch and hope she made it through….
Catherine was one of those Patriot people,
Of those who professed of the love of the King,
Catherine had even partaken His cup,
And His anthem- the first one expected to sing.
And Catherine encouraged her sister, “Please, Kimber
Just climb up the mountain. Consider His claims.”
But Catherine’s excess in her Patriot passion,
Was enough for her sister, Kimber Lea James.
Would she see Catherine? She missed her sincerely,
Their visits grew further and further apart.
She’d known of her time in the deep, dreaded dungeon,
She sensed of a wounding, deep down in her heart.
Did Catherine manage to survive? And is the girl she knew alive?
Kimber Lea’s lantern was clanging beside her, oblivious to the distraction she made,
Lost in her thoughts, she caught up with a group
who was waiting admission outside a blockade.
‘How odd’ that the festival now has an entry,
In previous years it was tents in a field,
People were asked to relinquish their lanterns,
She watched- to her horror- the Patriots yield.
The grasses were littered with beautiful lanterns,
‘Leave them’ or one could not enter the fair,
Among all the lanterns that lay in the grass,
Catherine Elizabeth’s lantern was there!
Wondering if Catherine had chosen to fight it… but, Kimber lay her little lantern beside it.
Music was playing, relief to her spirits,
so Kimber went searching, with growing concern,
Someone was singing- it sounded like Catherine!
The noise of the crowd made it hard to discern.
Finally, she found her sister,
Catherine, center of attention,
Singer of the Stranger’s anthem,
Full awareness, with intention…
Who is this woman, this seeker of praise?
This is not Catherine, the girl that I know.
Catherine would climb to the Hold of the King,
She would take on His yoke; she would not let it go.
Kimber watched her Kingdom sister,
Sip the liquid in the glass-
Kimber thought a Patriot,
Would let the murky water pass.
Who is this woman who bends under pressure?
Careless and reckless and clearly untrained,
Bitterly failing the call to be loyal,
Selfish, indulgent, and now unrestrained?
Kimber watched as Catherine met a handsome man and left the tents.
She watched her sister leave the One, betray the One: the Covenant Prince.
Kimber envisioned the harm this would bring:
Behavior denying the Covenant King.