Alone in darkness you'll hear it speak
Wrinkled wings and a worn out beak
Eyes pure black with a deadly stare
Smell of death in the air
A bird or myth some may claim
Death or fear it's all the same
It spreads its wings and starts to soar
It's presence you can't ignore
Once its near you'll feel the pain
Choice of death they can't explain
A hole dug for the body now
A field of lies is what they plow

What is left?
For the only light that shimmers are fragments of memories
Memories…from the candle that fell dim long ago…
The dried wax its tears….
And the smoke? The ghost that haunts me even now…
I see it…the rose that once sat on the table…
That bloomed as if for birds to see and no one else
Forgive me…
For I am man…and as such blind…
Ignorance and shame….
Both of which I know too well

Truth?
A tale that’s written in darkness…
Falling on deaf ears
Left for the mute to repeat

It starts with a simple step…
A fumble…a push…
And with the stumble it’s the hand that catches the fall…
With knees on ground as if in a bow…
And then…? We stand…
Blood running down the leg….to remind us…
The pain…our reward…
For what a reward it is…
No mountain of gold…no kingdom or crown stands in equal…
Stand now…Stand as if in marble for all to see…
Name it grace…humility… for they are placeholders…
Your failures…sit at your feet as crumbled stone from a sculpture’s hand.
And the eyes that gaze now…the possibilities that lay ahead.

Flame and shadow…
In rooms dark and forgotten
Promises misbegotten
You find it…
Wallowing…its lies swallowing…
The blind following…
Its reflection always moving…
Between the dancing of the candle flame
The uninformed disclaim
Nor you nor I to blame
You find it…
It catches you… with the slightest kiss
Alone in dreams…amiss
You feel its eyes…
From faint low cries
It found you….

It sits…
Like a throne…over cliffs and water…
The waves clash… corrode the dirt…
Corrodes flesh and blood…
It mocks…
With calls of birds…
From stone that crumbles into sand…
It covets…
To fly…
To dance…
To be free…
It can’t escape… Its root have dug to deep…
For the flames are its only salvation…
And the ashes it leaves behind its legacy….