Metalwork, Swordsmithing, and Blacksmithing are all in the same realm of craft. It’s a long process of forging metal using a hammer, grinder, heat, and cold. The heat is used to make the metal flexible and the term is called “Tempered”.  The cold is to harden the metal, the term is called quenched. One way to tell if the sword is complete is for the flame to essentially polish the sword, so much so that the Blacksmith can see his own reflection on the metal inside the flame.

You’ll call her wild,
she’ll call you play.
You can have a body of iron,
and she would forge you her way.
You need patience of a blacksmith,
to convince her to stay.
She can seduce you with silence,
and allure you with violence.
She’s a double-edged sword,
her mind won’t be ignored.
Tempered by the fire that excites her,
when the heat ignites without shame,
and only when you see your reflection
in her erratic flame.
A man with a craft is who she’ll claim,
but don’t forget she has sharp edges
that you polished the same.
You quenched the blade,
that forced her spirit cold
and her soul betrayed.
The weapon is for bloodshed
because her love for you was misled.
She would carve your veins
if you left her heart broken in chains.

– kristin l. cook