Surrounded
by the Shadow of Death.
Twas a cool damp morning. The kind where the clouds
have yet to rise and the mist awakens dormant flesh as it sneaks up behind me. Electricity whirls thru the dawn raining down
lightning that stings my naked flesh. For he is watching.
Thy
mist weighs heavy with every breath. A distant crow hacks out a fitful good-bye
from a perch unseen. The dead vibrate through all that is living. Thy shadow,
just barely visible, dances with the devil between walls of fog.
Those
who have long since passed sing to me and smile. They are happy now, and
forever will be, encased in the haze. They share private jokes and blood wine
moving as if I am not there, their eyes playing tricks on me.
I
breathe deep the earth, rain, and drowning embers. A low lit pathway beckons me
to dark endings. For aware am I of the dark shadow that binds me. For there is love
in a timeless moment when the mind dreams of the body wafting, rising with the murk,
toward the distant gray no-where.
I
see him and he sees me. Curiosities
welcome his eyes to meet mine as flames pirouette afore me. A ring of smoke finds
me dizzy. I sway and falter. For I am swaddled in a cold, damp grip of romances.
Tis
all a dream and I sigh as my wishes flutter out with the blood that quenches
his thirst. By his fangs I feel no pain. My colorless soul blooms as it swirls
making a forlorn figure in the image of which I once was, leaving a trail of frankincense
smoke in her wake.
Meeting
my eyes, he sighs, and wipes the blood from my cheek with a gentle caress. I wish
to see him again, forever, as my body melts into his. A smile colors my pale
cheeks as I drift off dreamless and at peace.
Laura
Chowanski, March 31, 2013
