Training: Weights

Tsung, used to masking
his reactions so opponents
did not anticipate his moves,
showed none of his disappointment
as he assessed the boy
who would be both his charge
and his student:
sixteen years old,
close to full height,
but the boy could not even lift
the medium-weight bar.
 
Clear then to Tsung that the boy
was not his father's equal,
was not his brothers' equal.
Un-muscled, overlooked
fourth son.
Now king.
 
The boy, Xau,
struggled to hold the lightest bar,
sheened in sweat,
arms trembling,
but at least he held it,
didn't use his newfound rank
to demand a rest.
 
Small consolation
to carry away
when training was done,
when Tsung instructed the guards
who would protect the boy
for the rest of the day,
when Tsung himself returned
to his darkened room
and burned incense
for Xau's father,
the weight of that loss
hard to lift.

(First published in "Crowned: The Sign of the Dragon, Book 1")