They came to the pier

Some to board the big ship

Others only

to say farewell

Bon voyage! From the shores

They go with god

or a talisman in pockets worn

to another green world

where the grail overflows

Youth carries the cup

to catch the rain

In paradise that awaits

will catch only the sweat of their brow

Clear the forests to open plain

where absent partitions

they sow the seeds of their own harvest

The tip of the spear breaches the shell

or slow poison to soak the soil

Unfamiliar winds sweep the orchards

Carry the distant echoes

of the bells of home

The bitter fruits of disappointment

fall to the ground

Gone to lie down in the wild heath

atop the glacial ridge

Above the jagged scar left

from the ancient

Brown-green waters fill her void

Stones crawl through history

to lay their fingers across the flowing strings

The sweet song of stones

rise from the waters

to soar with the circling buzzards

They bring water and air to the earth

Now only fire to complete the cycle

 

The destroyer performs his role

absent judgement or morals

Gleefully shredding your fragile parchments

those mortal remains of your fantasies

The wolf in him no longer cowers

Sprays his mark upon your temples

as he exits from back alleyways

Ever back to the forest

eschewing your piercing lights

Better seen as twinkling dots

embedded in distant hillsides

Always known

never to belong

 

Bells may chime

or toll

or peal

Matters of mood

sense of expression

Whether to shout

or to whisper

or to weep

In the land of the deaf

they say nothing

while their hounds cower at the din

Canine wisdom or instinct

to hear whistles

while shunning sirens

Which breed is best

to be the hearing ear?