05 - Kim Quy appears to Lê Lợi, or "An offer you can't refuse"

(Getting kind of a late start with this part of the project due to personal circumstances (moving formally to a different country, starting PhD, the ridiculous psychological effects the extended sunlight hours of England are having on me, a general lack of creativity), but here begins some work involving the sacred turtle of Vietnam, the object of my current fascination. Recent reports say that the turtle has not only recovered but has also been discovered to be female, so, yes, a Lady of the Lake/Arthurian legend comparison will be forthcoming.)

Introductory note: This poem concerns the origin of the sacred turtle's legend, as I wanted to begin with that as a context. According to the legend, the Golden Turtle God, Kim Quy, appeared to assist the country in times of war, providing magical arrows to An Dương Vương all the way back in the third century BCE and again to Lê Lợi in the 15th century. Kim Quy gave the future king a golden sword that imbued him with supernatural power, allowing him to defeat Chinese invaders. After Lê Lợi's victory, Kim Quy appeared again to take back his sword. The lake at Hanoi where the present day sacred turtle resides was named for this legendary event.




I will give you
the tools for surival
but you must
give them back

it's in my nature, after all,
to require
reimbursement,
being older
than the earth itself.

Your enemies will
scatter before the gifts
I bring you --

a golden sword
a scale from a fish
and an arrow.

Please excuse
the beak-marks on them all.
Old habits
die hard.




( The image, which depicts Lê Lợi with Kim Quy, was found on this website; however, when I tried to find its source at the website it lists, I found that the site is no longer working.)