Excalibur

When Arthur pulled the sword out of the stone,
And weighed it in his hand and held it high,
He swore to bring new order to his land
Which up till then was lawless, fearsome, wild.

Many years later, sitting on his throne,
Musing upon old battles long gone by,
He held the hilt again with his right hand,
And looked upon his lawful land and smiled.

(Yes, I've been reading Tennyson.)