Do you remember when the matchstick lit and touched the candles wick?

As always
The sky is painted grey
Which caused a solemn drone to spill out on to the trees below
The bark of these is streaked with a terra cotta smear,
My skin
And the pitter patter of rain matches the tempo of
The pitter patter of my feet matches the
Tones of the sod and clay
I am running
Away and towards
The cloaked man and refuge, respectfully

//


The cloaked man approached me in slumber
His voice- static and void of inflection- draped over my body and stung my flesh with the sensation of poison.


//

Stripped of light,
I ran into the fleeting night
In hopes of gathering my bearings
I cast my eyes to Great Polaris
And began to sing
"Oh Grand Astra!
This I beg of Thee,
Dissolve this fog that I again may see!"
And from thistle and thorn emerged the cloaked man,
Grinning a malevolent grin
His stare laden with sin
He spake
"Can't you see you belong to me?
I have brought you knowledge and I have brought you gain,
But you run, and now all you'll feel is pain."
And he broke my arms.
As I writhed in agony,
I called to the Northern Star,
And he pulled at my jaw until it was off.
He stuck an arrow in my lungs so that I would shut up,
But I would not.
With every gasp I cried out,
And he tore out my tongue.
He left me to die to return to the soil and sod.

I still search for the scent of a rose in a field of lilac and lace
There is no luck in this place
So I'll forsake the field and valley
Climb the peak of the nearest mountain
Pound at the void in my chest
And scream your name
I'll scream until the blood leaves my veins
And a fire fills the sky
Destroy my voice
Until the rose and lavender pair again

I beg you
Peck my eyes,
Oh fair Raven in the sky.

This thought at times plagues my mind
Not in the sense of complete consumption,
But in a manner that strikes me with a sinking feeling
In the pit of my tum, in the depths of my soul
A secret fear, though I'm certain it's not exclusive
There will come a time that I will die.
All the moments, every single second
All my breaths and beats
Each twitch and blink
Will cease and become memories
Or will they?
When I slip into the ether, will I hold to my past sights and dreams
Or will I simply be a vapid void
Would it fall upon an ear if I were to scream?
Would I even be capable of tears,
The ones I'd certainly shed
Just the same a refugee does when fleeing their country-
Their home,
But more than merely a home.
It's all I and they have ever known.
I suppose it's equal fear in leaving home and fear of the unknown.
I cannot imagine anything other than green grass and the rumble of thunder
Southern rains and how they bring comfort
So as it begins to storm in my new year of twenty-four,
I cling tightly to this planet, this plane, my perception of consciousness,
My dearest kind, all the car rides, broken hearts, locked lips,
All the pain and it's opposite,
And I smile because of how beautiful this life is,
A gifted experience from the creator,
And I am thankful.