I knew William thru the best and worst of times
His life ran down like integers of prime
And so close to death did he fall
The Reaper’s fingers upon him scrawled

Messages in fine lines etched into his face
A strange expression that left no trace
Of his former disposition
His self-sublimed by this attrition

But William recovered
And around him something strange hovered
And the light in his eyes had a strange lumen
I feared William brought back something inhuman

For he had a fierceness that was not there before
A coldness that into his soul did bore
He was fearless beyond all comprehension
His eyes put the light of life in serious contention

So no man or beast would look upon him
And his countenance was dark and beyond grim
He glowed at night within a dim purple hue
He was terrible to look at in this view

For some reason William like to be with me
He said I looked different than others he could see
And his demeanor softened when I was near
And I could be with him then without fear

William used to like night walks
So the city streets at night we stalked
One night we came upon a bad man
Insignias and tattoos designated some clan

And he was beating this poor woman to death
And she was begging him on her last breath
So I told William to wait while I rushed to her aid
Unto her tormentor I tried to dissuade

I pulled him off of her with a mighty heave
He got up and said he’d **** me if I didn’t leave
I saw this flash of blinding purple light
William picked him up in flight

And held him by the neck pinned up against a building wall
And spoke to him in a litany of death in hollow tones that did call
To another place that summoned dark, shadowy phantoms
That he summoned by these unearthly anthems

The air became as cold as ice
Two dark shapes appeared in a trice
Semi-transparent and ethereal like some dark fog
Coiling and seething like some noxious smog

And I saw upon one a semblance of eyes
And inside them I saw the universe rotating alive
As I looked into this abyss to see
I felt it looking back at me

So William told the phantoms they could have this man
To show him their dark and shadowy land
The man was screaming and crying not to go
Forgotten that he had tried to **** a moment ago

The two phantoms held onto the man by both arms
Unable to break their unearthly charms
They ascended into an eerie red litten cloud
That swallowed them up in a shroud

Of red and silver fleece
And their fell upon us a feeling of peace
William said to me, “it’s like this every time”
Then William began to fade from view and sublime

He said to me, “I’ll be back tomorrow”
His voice was played in the key of sorrow
“For I have to reestablish the balance”
“For our universal imbalance”

“For someday you will see”
“What truly happened to me”
“There are things that want to come back through”
“From near-death to me and to you”

“Entities of good and things that are bad”
“Who pay no heed to visiting spirits forbad”
“To come back through within that host”
“And hover within like some old ghost”

“And to you David I see your blue Angel”
“He watches over you this Archangel”
“And you see things in a beautiful light”
“And all things natural and bright”

So I saw William the other day
And his countenance had changed from black to grey
And he seemed at peace I gathered from his parlance
Now that he had the universe back in balance

The dark entity within him had gone
No longer the dark messenger’s pawn
At times I feel the dark one’s pulling at me
And vanish again at the blue angel they see

So the riders are there waiting to accrue
Their spirit Dark or Bright I haven’t a clue
Which one you get depends upon you
Vengeance or wisdom decides their hue

And so dear reader I leave you with this
Spending your time staring into the abyss
With shameful intentions trying to see through
All the while the abyss is staring back at you

And unto you it may send something you really don’t want
An entity, sinister, and dark that haunts
You to the ends of time
In odd meter and chaotic rhyme

They are the Riders From the Other Side
Floating in a netherworld they glide
Desperately wanting back from whence they came
To try and finish their interruption in life’s game

Dave Proffitt
2/15/2014
11:42 pm