詩『永遠という名の鎖／A Chain Called Eternity』（龍 博詞／Hiroshi Ryū）

『永遠という名の鎖』

天使はふたりのうしろに立ち

薄桃に映る翼を大きく広げて

ふたりの自由な心を祝福した

彼らの手と手の間には

互いを縛る鎖は　未だなかった

けれど知らぬ間に

神の使いを装う悪魔が近づき

正しく響く言葉の調べで惑わせ

永遠という名の幻想の鎖で

ふたりの手と手を固く繋いだ

別の未来も選べたはずの

分岐する『時』の行く先は

ひとつは花咲く安らかな園に

もうひとつは暗い牢屋に続いていた

もう戻れぬ地点から

空を見上げる囚われ人は

いつの日か輝く天空の剣を探し

迷いを突き破り昇るだろう

星炉の鍛冶屋が魂を込め打ち上げた

偽りの誓いや呪いをも断つ剣を

無慈悲に煌めく刃が下り

重い鉄鎖は音もなく砕け散る

死に至る契約は炎に包まれ

外れ落ちた鉄鎖の重みは

手にした宝物の価値を教える

我が手は新たな手をつかむのか

結ばれ　離れ　また結ばれる

縛られない自由な心は揺れ動き

揺れるからこそ生き続ける

―生きる心は自由を恐れないから

“A Chain Called Eternity”

An angel stood behind the two,

spreading wide its wings,

blushed pale pink with reflected light,

and blessed their free hearts.

Between their hands

there was, as yet, no chain to bind them.

Yet without their knowing,

a devil drew near, disguised as a messenger of God,

bewitching them with words that rang with righteousness,

and with a chain of illusion called eternity,

he bound their hands tightly together.

They might have chosen another future.

At the branching of time, the paths led on:

one toward a peaceful garden in bloom,

the other toward a darkened cell.

From that point of no return―

The captive, lifting their eyes to the sky,

will one day seek a radiant sword of the heavens,

piercing doubt and rising upward―

a blade forged with soul and fire

by the star-furnace smith,

a sword to sever false vows and cursed oaths alike.

The merciless, gleaming edge descends;

the heavy iron chain shatters without a sound.

Contracts that lead to death are wrapped in flame,

and the fallen weight of broken chains

reveals the worth of the treasure held at last.

Will my hand grasp another hand?

Bound, released, and bound again―

a free heart, unchained, sways and trembles.

It is because it trembles that it lives on,

―for the living heart does not fear freedom.