Sixty kinsmen can be a sea of people,
Or they can vanish like smoke.
They ring the fire around me,
And nothing, through the flame goes.

Twenty five foot is the circle,
Ten foot away is the man.
This is the rite of Vendetta,
This is the way of our clan.

He is a man and a kinsman,
He has a wife and a son.
He is the death of my brother,
The fire will pass only one.

Vendetta is honored by law,
And the Vendetta Blade buries strife.
To call the Vendetta takes witness,
To end the Vendetta takes life.

The Vendetta Blades have no handles,
Each curved blade is stone, blood, and pain.
Two jagged edges - go both directions,
One matched set - used again and again.

Twenty five foot is the circle,
Ten foot away is the man.
This is the rite of Vendetta,
This is the way of our clan.

Our palms have been cut, the fire is lit,
The fire is lined with the men.
The charges are read to the people,
With silence, the contest begins.

To strike is to strike as the snake strikes,
To cut is to cut man and hand.
To hold and to cut is the death grip,
And both of the men leave the clan.

The first slash and lunge, dodge, and jump-back.
The next, and the next, and I trip.
As I roll, jump behind, I see first chance -
Pain shoots through my hand - I strike ribs.

The bone catches blade, the blade catches hand,
Another blade furies around,
My blade in his back as my hand stays his blade,
In two bloody blades we go down.

To hold and to cut is the death grip,
And both of the men leave the clan.
I spring from the death into fire,
I'm pushed back and stricken by hands.

I regain my feet in the circle.
We both regain stance and clear heads.
He has both blades and is bleeding.
I bleed from head, leg, and hand.

I stand where I am, and he stands,
I will make him come to me.
I can tell by the way he approaches,
That I have the step, turn, and spring.

My feet have me run to the fire,
As I dash back with a branch, he goes down.
His son and his wife I see through him,
I hold my burnt, bloody, hand - and my ground.

This is the rite of Vendetta,
For the Vendetta Blade buries strife.
This is the way of our clan,
And the way of Vendetta takes life.