Before we enter
the dauphin’s chamber,
I fall to my knees.
Here begins my real task.
I am seventeen,
a small girl wearing boy’s clothes
entering a room of royalty.
Inside, I tremble like a child
abandoned in the wilderness.
I hear a bear growling
in the darkness
but know not where
it hides.
Please, God,
grant me the strength
to never wander from my path,
to accomplish my goals,
and to conceal my fears.