Quest

I left home to go on a quest

A shadow was my companion and guest

To find someone to blame

To find an enemy to tame.

I looked in the mirror to protest

Only to find others distressed

I asked for help from a named bystander

But he claimed to be a self-minder.

I met an antithetic zealot upstanding

He, too, turned to the mirror for understanding

Then I found written words of litigation

But they claimed for me no factor of mitigation.

When ting-a-ling the bells toll

I heard someone say be bold

Quietly follow the rules of old

To have me remain in the fold.