Sickness claimed Matthew.
Not hunger or lack of faith.
It was too much.
To strike him down with unavoidable truths.

He didn't deserve that.
To live under stretching shadows.
Following him wherever we went.
In a world bereft of compassion.

With armed guards patrolling night and day.
Threatening beggars and waifs with imprisonment or worse.
I was the sole coin in his purse.
With me he could buy all the happiness his imagination could afford.

Together we stole to fill our bellies.
Hid to elude capture.
And invaded a nearby tavern to lift our spirits.
Maidens took great pains to dissuade.

Luckily I was equipped to persuade.
Finding myself without coin, Silence would have to suffice.
Song would have to wait, as it always did.
Matthew, pitiable and stricken with illness.

Attracted concern from all around.
Within these painted walls of red and black.
Where men threw back.
Speaking from the heart unfiltered.

He was a touch of humanity in a place of escape and denial.
Many of the serving wenches had children.
Or knew of youngsters battling disease and faced with hunger.
He was unaware of my plan.

Naive beyond measure.
He'd stand there to soak in their companionship.
Even ignored as he was he still fed off them.
He was a fool, he was my fool.

And I played him as such, acting on our behalf.
Without compunction I waited outside.
Waiting and scheming to steal that which young hands.
Can never grasp alone.

A stumbling *****, often heard spewing falsehoods and spittle.
Emerged dumb-footed and large of head.
He'd be off to a bed a woman.
Of ignoble birth no doubt.

Who or why I couldn't spy.
A reason to care.
He wasn't dressed in white and green.
So alone he would likely dream.

In place he wore what he could find in store.
A purple vest lined with silver trim down the front.
Wrought iron buttons kept his blonde wilderness in check.
I could smell the metal.

Of coin held in pockets.
Jangling in my head, soo near at hand.
Dangling from a strap at his waist.
I found fortune's place.

He turned to face me.
But saw nothing within that bush.
Hiding my likeness from his clouded eyes.
And blunted intellect.

Soft footfalls neared proximity.
Slipping silently with blade in hand.
I severed ties with wealth and redistributed it to me.
To us and our needs.

That swollen pouch fell to earth.
I caught it wearing mirth.
As it landed in my left with a plop.
I knew it to be heavy as a sack of bronze potatoes.

Harvested plump and earthy from stainless soil.
Unadulterated and free from trickery.
The goody drunk did well to not notice me.

His life wouldn't be the first.
Forever shall I be his left-hand girl.
And he my right-hand boy.

Toblin recalled the voice of an angel.
Still untouched and pure as fallen snow.
Her servants tripped over feet held in glass.
Filled with emptiness and unable to support.
In the face of her breeding and gloriously divorced position.
From the grave her family still held sway.
Clutching the crown that would make them masters again.
Toblin is nothing more than an irritant I shall see bloodied
And humbled by nights end.

The night she was killed, she was but a girl of 13.
Still young and whole.
Unblemished by that insistence that all fade with time.
Fresh flowers went unnoticed around her.
Guarded night and day, joined by her father's snakes wherever she went.
Wandering the passages of her entitlement bare-foot and weightless.
She'd be gawked at if she tried that outside the blissful permission granted by.
Her father's hold over the world.
Tragically from their perspective only.
Song stood as worthy challenge to Venom's potency.
Easier to apply and effortless to spread.
Once inside it charted course across territory wearing clothes from all cultures.
Puppets of such quantity couldn't be bitten into submission quick enough.
To stem the tide of red they'd set into crashing motion.

Matthew checked once more,
To see a path unblocked,
Now was their chance to slip past eyes trained to claim,
Any lives that should remain,
Upon Sharin's unenslaved domain.
Still locked in preferred mind space,
Janet curled around a toy shaped like a weapon,
It made her giddy and brought gay laughter to a tragic background,
She was out of place, yet I couldn't tear her away from it,
Matthew tried to lend her a hand she had no interest in taking,
This world was rotten, her past wasn't here anymore,
Song had locked it away.

Paul turned to face his brother,
Rick returned his gaze, wiped his left eye,
A leather thumb hidden from everyone,
Picked up black pitch and vile sweat, staining it with liquid darkness.
Both saw what their tireless work, Sharin's charge had covered them in.
Dappled, dirt caked skin, a stench masked by noise,
War kept them too busy to bathe, song was like water now,
It was needed to sustain life.
Seven ways to continue dismounted to collect,
Together, around a stream.
John aimed to press further on, regardless,
Rick redrew his bowstring, kept it taut,
Paul stood beside Rick, his polearm planted firmly at Sharin's side,
Kevin thought it best to turn back, Albert plucked a string to his support,
As did Richard with his bow wearing a fresh layer of rosin,
Christopher's flute, seldom used was anything but resolute,
It played a solemn solo, saw no other course of action,
Sharin wasn't sleeping well today...

Black and red draped over ramparts.
Built by men in squalor.
Winked at us as we left.
It all behind.

Our parents lived outside these walls.
In a village far from here.
Could we return we might find.
That which we'd lost.

Friendship and fun.
Play that didn't come undone.
Whenever someone uninvolved.
Got themselves involved.

East of castle Sanguinair.
Blackened by the tide.
His men washed clean by victory.
Entertained by wine.

Came by the boatful.
Prideful, brash and boastful.
Little mind they gave ahead.
Spearheads laughed and bows did cry.
As helms marched ahead attached to mail and grime.
Many battles tempered fear with wisdom.
The knowledge that they knew.
Aided spear and guided shaft.
Passing through and through.

Once long ago it was but black and nothing else.
Now a splash of wine.
Had colored castle Sanguinair.
A color most divine.

Cold is my love for you,
No longer warm, no longer true,
Separated at fracture points,
I'll raise a wall between us, one you cannot cross,
This world belongs to noble creatures, lichens and moss,
No further shall vines cross,
For I've given you winter everlasting...

Andulan's loyal snakes, chosen from noble bloodlines,
Didn't pay attention to the loss of her protection,
Hearing restored, voices reclaimed, allowed them to speak her name,
As a song previously written, played a record straight through two,
A green arrow with white wings traveled eagerly, banking around to catch another,
Paul's trident, charged forward alongside Kevin's lilting refrain.
He gave a wet surprise, red and pungent, filtering through dire fingers that trembled,
At the sight of its own blood, tinted green by another's legacy.
Kevin applied a different approach, introducing another snake to what it felt like,
To be made to feel completely helpless.
After slicing its arm off, sending it the earth below,
Kevin ****** his sword into its belly,
planted it into the ground, quickly draining it of,
A color most profane.

I will never forget her words.
Of sheer glass screeching against the world.
Of atrocities whose gravity.
Is inexorable.

Once that blade of silence enabled her to catch.
The thief's neck unaware.
She sent his lifeforce rolling down a valley.
Of prevented crimes.

Halted descent to gaze into pools of red,
Falling from one inhuman reservoir to the next.
She joyfully played with a life less than illegitimate,
Giggling soulless and unrepentent,
At the profanity of it all.

Without dignity to hold her back.
When logic tried to stop her from.
Taking it back.
Janet she,
Pressed purpose to reason's concern.
Revealed psychosis and told me,
No.

With a plain face and quivering smirk,
I was pushed back with an emptying ****.
He's still there, still alive and well,
I'd like to not be as such.

Hidden inside our new home of black and red.
Caught by lyrical promises sang by a once comely ally.
Turned fat idiot by serpent's slaughter.
Toblin's other vassal was spotted.
Grinning accomplice or not he was.
Spotted.
Recognized.
Slaughtered.
In the aforementioned manner.

Those thick vines crept back into place,
Beneath their host, assimilated by flesh,
Once youthful and pure as white snow.
Though juvenile, she spoke and processed as an adult,
Walking towards six tearful performers,
Who'd just witnessed the death of a girl and subsequent transformation,
Into a heartless monster.
Repugnant trails of misery followed her, falling through torn sleeves,
Bruised skin from ordeals suffered years ago, clung to whitened remnants,
Her black coronet was still in place upon her head, unchanged and solid,
Blackest seal upon brightest mind.

As the battle raged on,
Andulan began to feel increasingly uncomfortable,
Her combat high was wearing off, the needs of her ivy,
Were becoming greater and greater, taken without consideration of,
Her needs or wishes.
Rick used the borrowed moonlight to focus his song,
Down the length of his bow, humming a song under his breath to steady his nerves,
Rick set loose a single note, with a message written just for her,
Its alright now, you can rest, no one is going to hurt you,
I'm here for you...

I feel I must.
Comprehend all things and leave nothing unsaid.
Allow truth to seep in rejecting all lies.
Never disobey the voices that shield you from them.
Not a moment goes by that I don't doubt myself.
Outside there is light that closes in on itself.
Threaten those that wound you.
Excruciating ceaseless pain that follows me to bed.
Surround yourself with yourself and be in total agreement.
Convinced its all an illusion that will pass with time.
Awaiting a tidal change for respite.
Perhaps tomorrow my pain will be light.
Expect no improvements in a broken world.

I seized her arm,
Held that crippled trembling hand,
Freed Janet from silence by,
Opening her trust forcibly and resolutely,
I had to set her free even if I had to,
Break each finger one by one.
Until she dropped it and reverted back,
Into that unflowered girl propped up against,
An unwell.
I didn't stop even as vile unmeant words,
Lashed my heart raw and bleeding,
Twice round the globe.

I will never forget her words.
Of sheer glass screeching against the world.
Of atrocities whose gravity.
Is inexorable.

Once that blade of silence enabled her to catch.
The thief's neck unaware.
She sent his lifeforce rolling down a valley.
Of prevented crimes.

Halted descent to gaze into cups of red,
Falling from one human reservoir to the next.
Each drop splashed to become happiness with a twirl,
No longer a girl.
She joyfully played with a life less than illegitimate,
Giggling soulless and unrepentant,
At the profanity of it all.

Vengeance usurped her throne,
Without dignity to advise her,
When logic crumbled trying to stop her from.
Taking it back.
I diverted that hand.

Clutching silent cure with rigid fingers.
Janet she,
Pressed purpose to reason's concern.
Revealed psychosis and told my heart,
No.

With a plain face and quivering smirk,
I was pushed back with an emptying ****.
He's still there, still alive and well,
I'd like to not be as such.

Hidden inside our new home of blue and gold.
Caught by lyrical promises sang by a once comely ally.
Turned fat idiot by serpent's slaughter.
Toblin's other vassal was spotted.
Grinning accomplice or not he was.
Spotted.
Recognized.
Slaughtered.
In the aforementioned manner.

Andulan didn't want to, she,
Resisted at first, but the sight, the smells,
A color most divine, piqued her interest.
Sadistic joy given not chosen, caused her to laugh,
As vines wrapped around her choices, making decisions for her.
Prickling buds erupted from deep below, causing pain to pass over white skin,
Andulan clutched her arms together, left held right as both trembled.
She barred her teeth, felt them grind, heard them chatter.
As her ivy within, forced upon her by father.
Coiled around her person until she was replaced by a monster.
Bright green insults turned her mind ablaze as she realized her dress was now in tatters,
Torn apart by thorns sharp enough, to slice through flighted hides,
Bringing crash to tyranny,
Many Sharin's ago...

She stirred from within Matthew's shadow.
Grasping Silence in one free hand.
Thinking of the consequences awaiting her if.
She used that power.
A company of spear-men.
Circling Toblin's convoy with keen edges in hand.
Would loose fierce rebuke if she were found.
Still alive.
Matthew clutched his chest and pulled down.
Just his stomach this time.
Could I spend the rest of our lives.
Wrapped in song sweetened by his thunder.
I'd part my clouds to let him in.

Rick walked back, trying not to shake,
His bones vibrated, his melodies became distorted,
Skipping beats once memorized and mastered,
Became difficult to piece together.
Rick had no choice but to use force of will,
To reinstate control over himself and his song,
I won't let fear smother me, gasp I will not,
Through present circumstance...

Andulan was mildly surprised, rocked forward in her property,
Thoughts of concern briefly washed over her face, filling her with fright.
Six loyal snakes stopped in front of Sharin's adept, wielding song as weapons,
John instantly saw what the carriage before him represented, it was Toblin's transport.
After much song between them, the seven musicians rallied behind his cry,
This madness will go on no longer!
Swords dipped in granted blood, tinted green from lineage,
Coated them in deep, fearful respect.
Dating back to mankind's terrorized past,
Unsheathed themselves from leather length and raised a concerted answer,
To foolish devotion.
Though they wore blue upon gloves, dangling from their necks,
Opaque pendants attached to black thongs, swung back and forth,
As the force of movement, more severe in its intention than most men could muster,
Brought fearsome resistance before desperation,
They need our help, there must be survivors, there has to be...

As the fires died away,
Matthew saw a chance to escape with Janet,
He'd get them far from fear,
And distanced from harm but,
She was entranced by that accursed artifact,
Eyes locked forward, held by a brain that couldn't process,
The lulling messages it was receiving,
I'll stay here and perish comfortably,
Rather than listen to the silence again...

He meant well.
But aimed poorly.
That head of re-purposed iron.
Struck naught but air,
Beaconing a second strike,
To reach back came natural and true.
But blue was gloves upon hands ensnared by spear training.
Scented by wine.
They blocked in time to send.
Boy of hair tinted cherry red.
To his knees instead.

So, what will it be?
My humble street performers,
Educated in the musical arts by none other than Sharin herself,
Venom or Silence? Make your choice carefully.
Everyone stopped listening to the sound of silence all around them,
She granted them permission to think this over, after only being given license to listen.
Rick turned his bowstring slack, lowered its direction to the ground, cocked his head towards John.
Kevin reached for his mallet, prepared to strike his rune blade, but Paul stopped him,
Lent a hand to ask him to wait patiently,
A single misspent move,
Could prove disastrous,
These snakeshead aren't human,
They move quicker than agility enables other men.

While Matthew and his timid protector watched.
Sharin burned with her tears.
Inside the conflagration, behind waves of blackened heat and bitter smoke.
An ongoing mockery of lady-hood held a plump prisoner before her feet.
He vowed in vain to serve the venom queen as yet another faceless stooge.
Lucky for him she wouldn't suffer the company of anymore idiots.
Battered and humbled he wore a defiant smirk.
She'd remark later how he appeared to welcome his death.
Not everyone enjoys the company of one as glorious as myself.
That dress cast aside the darkened hue it obtained.
The scent of smoke didn't cling nor did the stench of shed tears run down its length.
For you see.
She has no remorse left in her.

Janet hit a tree, it stopped moving.
Squeezing eased her pain it was alright.
Drowned fingers intertwined to clasp forevermore.
Around a plausible trunk that had to be.
Daddy.
Confused yet interested, a man's hand wiped a brow.
Clean of water, retrieved glinting from leather length and.
Raised his answer to desperate love.

Christopher, Albert and Richard.
Opened their eyes to the sound of familiar melodies,
Nearing their proximity to reinforce their position,
Upon a realm of strife not of their world,
The three brothers never could stomach violence,
They shied away from arguments, loud voices scared them.
Rick placed his back against a tree, breathing sharply, asking Sharin for a refreshed quiver.
Andulan ordered her vassals to return to her side, come back at once,
This is an embarrassing sight, you are obviously outmatched.
Hard swallows signaled acquiescence that tasted bitter, unlike the wine they imagined,
Awaiting them should they survive.
John, Paul and Kevin stood fanned out at three points in front of Sharin's mobile tree,
Bearing apples for all to see.

Before John could answer,
Two dead snakes rose back to feet unaware of death's jurisdiction,
By all that is reasonable, this can't be happening,
They are immune to injury, impervious to damage.
Confidence wavered, his voice quavered,
As blue garments threaded gold as well,
Delicately removed twigs and leaves, taking great care,
To not appear inconvenienced in the slightest.
Were it not for my gift of silence upon these six loyal servants,
Your songs would surely crush them no contest, however as they now are,
No words can stop them, no matter how sweet or intentioned.

Escorted from uncut roses,
Janet fought without power,
Against the unreality carrying her away,
From perceived solutions.
Lurking beneath her surface,
The edge of restraint stirred endlessly,
Threatening to cleave my head free,
From worthless neck.
That sleeve was still gone,
**** tainted by a red chill,
Stared at my failures,
Tempting my soul to crush my heart,
With a damning duality.

A divergence set us apart.
Matthew's hold loosened until.
He wasn't there anymore.
The crashing disturbance above.
Alerted me to the presence far too late.
A masked face with oval eyes.
Set on my vulnerabilities.
Came crashing down bathed in leaves.
Before reflex could oust me from capture.
His hands were there.
But my voice was not.

Sharin taught them the ultimate defense,
Immediacy beyond breath,
Each brother of song, placed a hand over his core melody,
Felt the now manifesting itself with each beat, desired to hear it continue,
Existence itself has both a song, and a silence, if one listens carefully,
It is possible to read a song's structure and with that knowledge,
Its logical conclusion can be uncovered,
They bridged the gap between song and its silence,
To extend it and throw themselves into its inevitable encore,
Repeated as necessary...

Matthew didn't watch by choice.
It was that shard of queer unwashed civility
That pushed his face towards her, as her audience.
Unwilling and unforgiven.
Even by himself.

Once reclothed and restored,
Outward appearance still concealed truth,
Her heart was elsewhere not here,
Someplace between hate and fear,
A space of ungraspable power and agony,
Few fear for few would ever near its core,
Willingly, still,
More and more initiates wormed their way towards,
That vacuous chamber,
It's mine she said,
It's mine!

Princess of verses, lady of such beauty forbidden.
Across both mindscapes of men and fields of time.
Remained alive as a relic of a simpler age.
Before the tyrannical grip of song had seized men.
And women of low report alike.
A scar obscured by lace and black coronet.
Marked where her song and silence had met.
However if you asked her she'd politely correct you.
Nothing more than child's folly I assure you.
Before a snapping arrow would pierce you.

Dreariness tried to diminish happiness.
I wouldn't let it end my glorious lack of stamina,
Or desire to do nothing and lie helpless against comfort,
It was an enemy I happily conceded to,
My common brown forest spread its roots out,
To the four corners of the relevancy.

A castle seated around scarlet air,
Colored by evil wine.
The sweetest defilement of soul and heart.
Gates that held strong against blue upon gloves.
Would they part for song's grace?
Gladly times uncounted.
Sharin's glory need never ask for admittance,
Forever would she and her children,
Hold a ticket to the show.

Beside her blueberry carriage,
Arranged to golden marriage,
Ran six purebred horses, carrying blue upon gloves,
Hands around both reins and spear,
Looked onward towards the waking fear,
No vassals opposed to our stay and goes,
Could bring the stench of defeat up to my nose,
Our family knows best, since it was us who brought them down,
Ripped free from dragon skulls, a hefty well-deserved crown.
Cruel emerald tendrils, rooted in betrayal,
Scrapped against her insides, cutting wounds to bleed,
Often her agony tempted cries to ring out, but fear clenched her choice,
I was born a snake, so I will live as such.

Rick saw it first, black smoke that couldn't be.
Immediately eased his bowstring, leaping off the window free,
Cornelius, John and the merry three,
Were caught off guard and put to grief,
Rick's sorrow and building agitation,
Made his hands limp and cold, his bow slipped free,
His legs turned back to wood, decaying rapidly,
Paul was wrong she, isn't sleeping peacefully...

Rick couldn't stomach anymore of it,
He could see the shroud of silence all around her,
Disguising her as nothing short of an abomination,
It broke his heart to see her made into a mere engine of carnage,
Unable to escape her destiny to **** without pause,
It is my duty to set her free from this,
Tragic songless existence...

Those two unblemished necks,
Now lay severed on the ground, mouths agape.
Beside ruins made ancient by the urgency of now.
They were worthless in life, now in death they are lifted liabilities,
Faces turned away from secret truths.
Andulan felt the vines quickening inside her, they were growing restless,
New blood stood before them, tantalizingly close and ready to be eaten,
Now now, don't get ahead of yourself,
She said while covering her stomach with one hand,
We wouldn't want to waste good stock.
These men deserve venom not death.

Oddly I smelt blood,
Everywhere it pervaded us both,
I tried to move but I couldn't,
My hands especially felt weakened somehow,
Have I not eaten for days or his he,
Not letting me leave?
His shackles were there, oversized and unyielding,
Trying to escape felt like a cruel joke,
I gave up rather than suffer humiliation.
Let me go I want to get up,
I asked him gently,
I can't let you leave my sight,
My silver dagger was nowhere to be found,
Where'd you put it?
I asked a statue,
I don't know what you mean,
Are you feeling alright Janet?

Relinquish ownership, the ring is flawed, unworthy.
Pass it on to that lesser man, it suits him well.
May it weigh him down, like all your baubles.
Useless trinkets, adorning your weary hands.
Testament to your folly, decisions better unmade.
They look back at you, your gaze is welcomed.
Revealing your true self, you like not what you see.
Your ugliness, the filth that fills you, is now somewhat concealed.
from the eyes that judge, the people who enable your greed.
they now view you more, as something they need.

John supported their cause,
by raising voice above the noise,
Collected in Rick's mind.
Numberless melodies both new and old,
Offered him tales still left untold,
Prying wouldn't do, Sharin taught him modesty,
Politely ask them why, the notes above them tremble so.
Relevancy is the key to action she told him, never open a locked box,
Check to see if its lid is slightly freed, if not move on to the next melody,
Salvation is denied by those unreceptive to it, a sign its not needed,
Is the sound of life well lived.

A girl dressed in lace,
Green buds sewn into sleeves of emerald,
Gave the child queen scales she didn't wear.
It was a funny little ruse,
Placed with kindness.
Unlike the vines coiled around her insides,
Tightening around her legacy,
Implanted by a caring person,
She trusted to protect and serve.
Her trust was betrayed by agony,
Nights spent clutching onto the world,
Trying to hold on while,
Those seeds replaced her own.

All they could do was block,
Each second with their hearts in their throats,
Feeling approaching death on their skin, nerves sizzling just below,
In the end they felt an odd chill, it signified a release from immediacy,
Freed their thoughts to wander towards their opponent's next move.
No vines rested at their feet, beheaded and convulsing on the ground,
But they knew they might be any second now,
What a bother, I have to try, I hate it when I have to lower myself,
To respect the aptitudes of another,
Andulan was taught from a young age, men and women,
Not of House Venom are animals, running wild and free,
Useless swine without purpose, it was her duty to give them one,
And in the process teach them what it meant to be loved.

Andulan remembered all of it,
The screams and pleas for mercy,
All music to her covered ears,
She heard what she deserved.
It felt good to let the beast out into the open,
Allowing it to feed on the blood of others for a change,
Euphoria and grace swept through her halls once more,
A weightless little princess, escorted by green serpents,
Gathered from choice stock and taught the value,
Of unconditional love.

Johnathan detested abject poverty,
While bringing riches to the poor,
They'd drank deep of it before,
However by this time they'd grown emaciated,
Rick remarked how their sisters had been claimed by Toblin,
Trapped by crests of blue held in gold,
We'll free them when the time is right,
I promise you.

Four wheels and one snake,
Rode ahead towards an already decided conversation,
Cornelius would resist at first, his logic clashing with mine,
His mind wet and delicious, his breeding second to none,
I can respect his skill and upbringing,
I'll even let him hold onto his choices, his honor and vision,
Of a better future for those serving under his hope,
An unblemished neck is something of an acquired taste,
I look forward to his love.

On behalf of Sharin's legacy,
Her will passed on to him,
He upheld her ideals as he mouthed the words,
It's what Sharin would have wanted.
Christopher, Albert and Richard the wise,
Broke into song to no one's surprise,
It was a day for clearing skies.

Sharin bore no children.
Yet mothered those not her own.
They flocked to her songs,
Seeking escape from Orphanhood,
Sleeping beneath a tree whose branches.
Hid them from nightmares and arms torn away,
Floating in a sea of Venom.

After Seeing Sharin's tears dried up and gone,
I laid back in my entitlement as two stooges,
With unblemished necks, I hadn't the strength to bite.
Delivered me and my carriage to Cornelius's logic.
Hopefully he'd be open to reason and able to appreciate true beauty.
Otherwise I'd use my ivy to convince him to see the light.
I don't like to reveal myself a monster it,
Is always a ****** affair and I,
Have no change of clothes.
He's a wise man with charisma to spare,
A mind accustomed to nocking quicker than most,
His age or freshly endowed,
His arrows strike hearts both mortal and devious.
Tacticians fear his unflappable leadership,
Politicians never question mobs of support,
Moving as one coordinated wave of outrage,
Voice cannot pierce a united cause,
Nor can gifts win the favor,
Of spoiled children,
Grown old and bitter,
Thirsty for change.
Toblin learned respect at the tip of a sword,
Fell short of defeating Cornelius by countless miles,
He'd forgotten the lessons he'd taught the man.
Came back offering old challenges to minds,
Bolstered through loss and sacrifice.
Crawling back still fat and worthless,
Toblin was fittingly rewarded.

Richard played his violin.
Softly granting music place,
It calmed his nerves, made anxiety hide.
Where war raged, song assuaged.
John's axe tinged an affirmation,
As did Kevin's righteous sword,
Albert strummed a longing chord,
Wishing to be a beloved singularity,
Betwixt Christopher and Richard playing mirthfully,
Admist a crowd of lightened hearts,
Those centermost melodies freed from fear,
Would dance around an apple tree,
Composed of just us three.

I had stolen them myself,
Cloth of soothing tightness,
Wrapping it around damning proof,
Praying it to close around her pain,
To keep her from remembering.
Clueless and possessed by forbidden sufferings,
Janet grabbed a tuft of my hair and held it sobbing,
Pulling at the root.
Enduring my appropriate punishment,
She cried,
Through ungiving eyes nothing soaked her dignity,
Concealment continued though,
To herself she admitted,
What had happened.