My heart, pierced
My breathing, shallow
My blood, pouring
hardening, cooling
on the
trampled grass
The gates of
an iron underworld
yawned wide for me,
a cremating maw of
mocking damnation
You came from
unseen shadows,
dressed in black
with flowers
wreathed and woven,
white against
the sable strands
of your glory
And when the fiery demon came,
flaming axe in hand
to claim his unholy inheritance
You sang
a note so sweet,
he flinched
at its beauty
Of care so far reaching,
it stopped him
in his tracks
Of friendship so lasting,
his fire died
Of desire so strong,
it burned him
Of two souls so
tightly bound,
he dropped his weapon
Of bodies so entwined,
he fell
to his knees
Of love so unending.
he
vanished
Sacrificing your song
to the fire,
I am restored,
but your voice,
now lost,
is but the
hollow soughing
of hot winds
across the silted surfaces
of cooling suns
of long-forgotten
gods
© Alfred W. Smith Jr. 2015
Beyond Panic 