What does it mean to be truly free? /
Walk unafraid through the turbulence /
Of a world with so much unknown. /
Know that the principalities in power /
Do not quell, do not pacify the Holy Dove. /

The heartless, the lost, the wayworn, /
We pray they'll find their way /
We beseech divine Aether that all pain be undone. /
A miasma lingers in the atmosphere: /
The sting of death & of mourning. /

Wandering in loss, fugitive these words lay /
In my subconscious; therefore, I look within /
For the sinew, the strength to carry on. /
Life continues for so long as we pilgrimage, we roam, /
The Land of The Living. /

3 "With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: /
'Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them /
And they will be his people. And God himself will be with them. /
4 And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes and death will /
Be no more, neither will mourning, nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.'"—Revelation 21: 3, 4 (NWTSE)

What limitless heights we could achieve /
Without the kiss of death, /
Yet a life eternal awaits those who are liege & faithful /
Yes, one without suffering & one without loss; /
Moreover, cause for rejoicing! /

Should I awake upon the morrow /
I will not fear my departure /
For I know that something illimitable, something aeonic, something sempiternal, /
& something far grander awaits: /
—Life eternal. /

Like thousands of soldiers in parachutes
they come out of the winter sky

One by one hitting the pavement
to claim victory for the season now unfolding

At first they are vanquished almost instantly
a price paid for those leading the charge

However as they begin to accumulate and cluster
a formidable foe is being created

Inch by inch, foot by foot, a fortress is being built
one that can be transformed into an igloo for shelter if needed

Soon the landscape will be covered by a heavy white blanket
left unattended it will run amok overwhelming all

As plummeting temperatures assault those not ready
once open lakes and river pathways no longer escape routes

A battering ram of inclement weather hampering travel
imprisoning those caught unaware of its fury

Snow drifts form obstructing passageways
entrapping those not prepared with an escape route

Waiting out the enemy a defensive strategy now in use
As it surrounds you on all sides building an oppressing presence

High winds and frostbite commingling in the air
that will dominate at the end of the day

Beauty or beast
The conflict yet to be decided.

Andreas Simic ©