I once heard a tale from a man
He was a story teller, a poet.... a sage
He spoke of a kingdom he'd known
Where the beautiful Amaranth grows
And we listened in awe as he spoke
Of a tower in the Desert of Hope

"It is said if you enter the tower
You'll be dazzled by riches untold
If you choose the most precious one
You may leave and the world's riches are yours
But if you choose wrong and try to leave
You'll be dead before the next hour is done"

All the men who were present to hear
The wondrous tale from the sage
Set out in search of the Desert of Hope
With only one thought on his mind
To cross the dry desert and enter the tower
Where the most precious treasure he'd find

After days of searching in the red hot sun
They were sunburned, thirsty and tired
When they came across a tower
Built up on the sand
A solitary sentinel
To the hope of all man

On entering the tower
They were dazzled by jewels
Of every colour and name
They saw gold and silver piled everywhere
While one solitary woman stood alone on a stair
The others were not even aware she was there

The men went quite mad
As they grovelled and grabbed
"It's this one... no this one, no this!"
I stood still by the door 
Horrified with what I saw
And the woman slowly descended the stairs

My curiosity tweaked
And I followed her up
Soon we were at the top of the tower
We watched as one by one 
The men left the tower with their choice
And were dead before the next hour was done

I held her hand and coaxed her to come
While looking deep into her eyes
A depth of warmth and love I could see
And knew she was someone I'd love all my life
"I've chosen the most precious of gems for my wife
Oh won't you come away with me?"

As we left the tower it crumbled and fell
Nothing left but fresh bones and dust
We slept that night under the twinkling lights
Of a million stars in the sky
And when we awoke we saw in it's place
A beautiful Amaranth flower

©Janine Daniel