T W E N T Y.

He dropped the brand,
That from his hand,
Had set the fire going,

And waited as
Beyond him, passed,
The scent of charcoal glowing.

“What deed is this?”
Behind him hissed
A rasp he recognized,

And turning saw
A shrouded maw
From whence it had chastised.

“What aims consume”
The foreman fumed,
And foamed as his voice broke,

“And illness winds
Out of thy mind,
And settles on my cloak.

Do think thee vast
With ranks amassed,
And tense as catapults,

Or bright enough
To brave a bluff,
And get the right results,

Or hope for signs
That may deny
The fate thy dreams portend,

Or terms to stay
This foretold day’s
Inevitable end.”

“Fair options, sir”
The boy concurred,
“But none of them are mine,

All I require
Is flame’s desire
To show the clandestine.

And scour the land
Of your commands,
And plant them deep today,

And call you hear,
And face your fear,
And frighten it away.”

The foreman raised
His scythe, unfazed,
And made to sweep it down,

But as it peaked
Its edge was streaked
With sunlight’s golden crown.

“This cannot be,
Within the trees.”
He howled a wild recanting,

“The outer world
Cannot unfurl
Inside, without my granting.”

“But look upward”
The boy implored
“The canopy is falling,

As bodies braver
Than the grave
Are spiritually calling.

And will not fight,
But re-unite,
To bare mortality,

And when you foist
No other choice,
Will well contented be.

“As once alive,
Forever wived,
Should soul and spirit live,

And string the bow
Of time’s arrow
‘Til mind and body give.

For I am life,
Whose love is rife
Throughout the world’s expanse,

And you are death,
Whose lonely dress
Is worn for our last dance.

So get thee gone,
Endymion,
For we have been aroused,

And sleep no more
Will for us draw
The shape of our warehouse.”

So Death denied,
And his desires,
Before the fearless left,

And only showed
When his shadow
Had nothing to contest.

And our brave lad,
Whose questing had
At last released us all,

Grew to a man
Out in the land,
Where leaves now chose to fall.


E N D