Do you see what I am holding
here in my hand?
This is a sword...or perhaps it is a rapier?
It was hand-made and engraved in Toledo, Spain.

Toledo, Spain is well known today
for its fine steel cutlery.
It was once the place where
the finest swords in the world were fashioned.

Dashing doers of dauntless deeds of derring-do,
devotees of deadly duels,
and destroyers of dastardly dragons doted on them.

Unfortunately, derring-do and duels,
as well as dragons went out of style,
as did our sense of wonder and awe
about the things legends are made of.

It looks like a sword, or maybe a rapier, but
it is only an eight-inch letter opener…
A gimcrack sold to tourists, but made with
all the care and workmanship
bestowed on those ancient weapons of old.

Brandishing it above a charge card bill,
in my imagination I win a duel at dawn,
and hold an ancient dragon at bay.