(for Gina Torres)
Robin Hood had Little John; King Arthur had Gawaine;
Samwise carried Frodo over the loathsome Mordor plain.
Look close at any hero, and odds are good you’ll find
There’s a buddy standing next to him, or half a step behind.
Now Malcolm, he has Zoe, and she’d follow him through Hell;
In fact, she has, and more than once, and she has the tales to tell.
She’s beautiful and deadly, taciturn and sometimes grim,
And though Mal won’t admit it, he knows her soul belongs to him.
But then crazy Wash, the pilot, went and won the lady’s heart,
And Mal soon found it pointless to keep the two of them apart.
And since Serenity has ample quarters for all three,
There’s no point in arguing “ownership”; best to just leave such things be.
Oh there’s Little John and Sancho, Samwise, Moonglum, and Gawaine,
Each one better than a “master” touched by fate, and not quite sane.
So it’s fine if Mal’s a bit unhinged, and his goals are hard to find;
Zoe’s path is clear as crystal; she’s just half a step behind.
Paul Haynie
1/24/2003