Intwined in sweat soaked
fev’rish delusion
A rav’nous serpent
coiling illusion
An ouroboros
slurps its slith’ring self
The prism lies fissured
’neath a cracked ice shelf
where flaws like veins branch
blood of dark gods flow
a heaven lost in smoke
nothing good here grows
Atlas underground
sinews straining stiff
auguries of beasts ablaze -
Spare a pity for what if

Looming lifeless shells
Of long dead distant cities
Where the wildflowers bloom
In the shade of rusting relics
We set fire to all the butterflies
And watched them burn
They screamed in the night
For that promised world
- lost

Encrusted in jewels of wonder
Shards of light entomb its slumber
A gilded box fortified
Horrors whisper from inside

Hoisted up, smugly regarded
Coveted instead of guarded
Contained furies writhe and rage
Never unlock this subtle cage

Aren’t you curious just to see?
These rules don’t apply to me
Foolish men with hearts of stone
Hell unleashed is what you own

Once, near a shipwreck I found
a bottle in the sand
within, a curled up letter
from a far and distant land:

“𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶.
𝘔𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩
𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯
𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺.
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳
𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦
𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 -
𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦
𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺
𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴;
𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘺.
𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺,
𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺
𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦
𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺.

𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭; 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵
𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴
𝘉𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩
𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦.
𝘉𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
𝘋𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦
𝘐’𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴
𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨
𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳
𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦
𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳.
𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨
𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵
𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥.”

I mused upon the writing
found by that dark wreckage
Then threw the bottle to the seas
To send on that forlorn message