Damon and Pythias

Dionysius the cruel king, 

So jealous of a friendship;

Planned to destroy apart the trust, 

Damon and Pythias did keep.

Day in day out he sought,

But to find  a fault he did fail;

Yet he made up his mind that Pythias,

Be put behind his notorious jail.

The wicked king, jury and judge,

On what charges he could not say;

One can infer, though, that he desired,

Between Damon and Pythias to create a  bay.

Even worse, desperate the king,

When Damon  for his mercy pleaded;

That Pythias be condemned to death,

In a few days, he decided.

A desperate friend in desperate days-

Running out of ways-

Pleaded again for the king's mercy,

His sister and mom in a far away land,

If Pythias for the last time could see:

He would put himself up in jail,

In condemned Pythias' stead;

Signing, if Pythias couldn't come back around,

He would be the one to be dead.

So estranged the king did feel,

That he immediately accepted the deal.

Pythias ran and swam,

Across the desert and the freshet,

So he could take care of his mom and sis,

And be back by the death date.

And come back he did just on time,

To see Damon, with no crime,

To be hanged made ready,

Yet melting to tears, already:

For Damon wished Pythias be late,

So Damon would meet Pythias' fate.

The king saw,

All this in awe,

And for the first time felt mercy;

Having learnt the power of love,

Damon and Pythias he set free.