My child, the child of my heart, though never of my name,
Who shares my Gift; whose eyes, though young, are mine -- the very same
Who shares my every thought, whose skillful hands I taught so well
Now hear the hardest lesson I shall ever have to tell.
Young Healer, I have taught you all I know of wounds and pain
Of illnesses, and all the herbs of blessing and of bane
Of all the usage of your Gift; all that I could impart
And how you learned young Healer, brought rejoicing to my heart.
But there is yet one lessoning I cannot give you
For you must find your own way there -- judge what is sound and true
This lesson is the cruelest ever Healer had to teach
It is -- what you must do when there are those you cannot reach.
However great your Gift there will be times when you will fail
There will be those you cannot help, your skill cannot prevail.
When you fight Death, and lose to Him, or what may yet be worse
You win -- to find the wreck He left regards you with a curse.
And worst of all, and harder still, the times when it's a friend
Who looks to you to bring him peace and make his torment end
What will you do, young Healer, when there's nothing you can do?
I can give only counsel, for the rest is up to you.
This only will I counsel you; that if you build a shell
Of armor close about you, then you close yourself in Hell.
And if your heart should harden, then your Gift will fade and die
And all that you have lived and learned will then become a lie.
My child, your Healing hands are guided by your Healing heart
And that is all the wisdom all my learning can impart.
You take this pain upon you as you challenge life unknown
And there can be no answer here but one -- and that's your own.
-- from Arrow's Fall by Mercedes Lackey
