Consumed by Shadows

 

Consumed by shadows

you were . . . 

but I -

I had no way of  knowing

how dark

the silence was

in your soul -

or whatever was inside you

that kept you searching

endlessly

through every shadow

that you thought

would satisfy

your need for -

what?

Whatever it was

you could never find it

because

your were 

consumed by shadows

of a lost

little boy, 

never recognizing

the destruction

you left behind you

in every life you touched.

And I - 

finally escaped that dark, silent world

where you were

consumed by shadows.

Two Years Today ("There be dragons here . . . ")

 There be dragons here

"There be dragons here" 

some warned - to keep me safe

from The Darkness . . . 

"But this much light and love,"

I said,

"will surely conquer that Darkness -

   That Dragon." 

And so the innocent, the trusting,

the believers,

are often lured into 

The Darkness -

because it is beautiful, just like you were, in the beginning.

But there was not enough love, or longing, or hoping, or praying -

that could rescue you from The Darkness.

But we tried . . . and failed . . .

while you slowly slipped away from us,

until the day

The Darkness

finally

took you 

Two years . .. . and yet we grieve. 

I love you.  

*******************************

"Some roads you shouldn't go down. Because maps used to say, "There be dragons here." And now they don't. But that don't mean the dragons aren't there."

The Darkness Blinked

In that moment

the eyes of

The Narcissist

saw something other than

Himself

Unexpected - rage -

Sharp as the glittering knife

on the kitchen counter

Cold as the gray corner where

The Narcissist

collapsed - finally facing

Himself - through her eyes.

In that moment

eyes locked in the final battle,

beside the kitchen sink,

and the tea kettle on the stove -

She didn't tremble

This time . . . 

In that moment

of courage and determination

She did not step back.

In that moment

The Darkness blinked

and I escaped.

Blood Sacrifice

Perhaps you cannot see the

blood

But then . . . 

You've never

Really

Looked at

Me 

and yet . . . 

remnants of my heart 

still

Beat - 

and some ragged

remnants of my heart

still

Bleed.

Clytemnestra Sings

 

King Agamemnon sprawls lifeless -

Blood pooling beneath his

Ragged beard

upon the stones of the palace floor

Dead eyes still open in shock and rage . . . 

Cassandra breaks through the 

Chains of Bondage

Bursting through the prison cage

of his perverse desires

Casting off the rags of slavery . . . 

While Clytenmestra shudders

at the deed she chose in rage and horror

as

trembling hands drop the bloody ax

It clatters upon the stones of the palace floor;

her eyes clouded with terror 

at the blood-soaked horror before her - 

she looks upon his once-loved face

his blood now flowing in 

little rivers

between the 

stones of the palace floor . . . 

she smiles a bit, then turns away

and 

Clytemnestra

sings

again.

Last Monday

 

It was just 

Last Monday

(Wasn't it?)

You were riding your bike

down the sidewalk

just outside

the white picket fence

in front of our

Big Yellow House -

I miss you.

Ashes of Hope

 

Wounded, and yet

she walks

Invisible

among the Ashes of Hope

that once was her

Life, her

Love, her . . .

Everything.

Where they . . .

What was it?

Where they

Existed

Survived

Pretended

(Or whatever they did there)

But never

Loved

or

Cared

or

Touched.

But now she

Rises

A Phoenix

Out of THOSE

Ashes of Hope

into a new

House of Hope

so 

Even with a broken wing

Broken heart

Wounded soul

She can finally rest

in safety

Peace

and 

True Love and family -

Never looking back

at those 

Other

Ashes of Hope.