King Arthur

everyone else used force

that’s why they never managed to get the sword out
they would attempt to wrench it out with might
but fail
because the sword had bonded with the stone
and the wound had become part of the stone’s identity

arthur used no force

he placed his hands around the sword’s hilt
and he read the two inscriptions
like instructions on each side
one said “Take me up”
the other “Cast me away”
he became one with
excalibur
the only sword sharp enough to separate
what is us from what isn’t
he extended his consciousness deep inside it
and reached into its edges
testing every boundary
until it became clear
what was sword and what was not
and in that moment
of perfect understanding
he saw how
to pull it from the rock