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Angel with a Sword

from Angel with a Sword by Leslie Fish

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about

Ironically, this is not based on C. J. Cherryh’s novel of a similar name, or the subsequent anthology series – “Merovingen Nights” — that I contributed stories to.

It’s based on another book: “Inside Outside”, by Phil José Farmer, in which an enigmatic prophet wanders the streets telling an equally-enigmatic fable; it’s the story I tell here, right up to the line: “Then I thought of one thing more.” There the fable stops, leaving the listeners to guess what the solution was.

It took me a few years to come up with an answer, but I think Farmer would have liked it.

lyrics

I am the angel with a sword
Pacing silent at your shoulder,
Sworn to the promise of my Lord.
Will you live to be much older?
I alone must decide.

While I lived upon the Earth I was a kind and godly man.
I helped the poor and served my god as well as any human can.
When I died and reached the Gate, the Guardian said: “For common sin,
There is a task you must perform before you can be welcomed in.”

He gave me a flaming sword and said: “There’s someone you must slay —
An evil, cruel, perverted woman who’d throw countless lives away.”
Gladly to prevent this evil, I set forth assured and bold —
Until I saw my target was... my own granddaughter, two years old.

Can the Lord be so mistaken? This is but a harmless child.
Won’t it stain my soul to kill an innocent still clean and mild?
If this be a test of me, then is blind faith what I should do?
Am I meant to think and question? ...Then I thought of something new.

Being dead, I am immortal. Time is nothing now to me.
I can walk for years beside her, I can judge by what I see.
Give me reason, my descendant; justify your pride and lust
Think of me as more than conscience, I will kill you if I must.

© Leslie Fish, 4/15/2001

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from Angel with a Sword, released September 2, 2022

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Leslie Fish Phoenix, Arizona

If there's one name that's practically synonymous with filk (Science Fiction folk music), it's Leslie Fish. Leslie has written literally hundreds of songs covering almost every subject, from the space program ("Hope Eyrie"), to Star Trek ("Banned From Argo") to urban life, history, and space fantasy ("Carmen Miranda's Ghost"). ... more

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