The Swarming of Peace
One still night,
In some stolen moment passed,
From my slumber
Mountained a hush and,
From this hush,
Rose death
His calloused grip
Sent Fear slowly soaking
Down from my scalp
To the freezing bits of my toes
He turned my limbs to lead,
Forcing me to either rise
To meet him, or to
Suffocate under the stillness
Of my own
Phantom breaths
In resignation, I uncoiled
My spirit from my spine
And crawled out from
The cage
That I had once called
My body
It was then Fear, not Courage,
Who clenched my jaw
And fixed my gaze
Upon Death's face,
Forcing me to take in
His presence
His scent stole into my nostrils,
Gagging and burying
My already
Unbreathing form
He turned to lead me
Away, leaving behind no more
Evidence in the wake
Of our departure
Than a trail of dripping soot
Arriving at the
Gates of heaven
He left me, but
Not without first
Releasing a whisper,
Hot and dry,
Upon my ear
As the gates opened
To welcome me,
And angels began to
Dance around me,
I found there was
Still no refuge
For me to wrap around
My exhaustion
And shield me
From the words he had
Released upon my mind
In the midst of perfection
I remembered my youth,
And behind new eyes
I contemplated
Marked-out plans that would
Never come to fruition
His question repeated
Achingly in the caverns
Of my mind
Until my very skull
Began to burn
Melting down my back,
The whisper ran
With needle claws,
Paralyzing my stride
And setting my stomach
To boil,
Raising a scream to my
Blistering throat
The hell in my mouth
Vomited into the
Paradise around me, and
"Time" hung
Gasping in the space
Where time was no longer
Allowed, not unlike
The childhood that is often seen
Begging in the corners
Of serious eyes
So many moments yet
To be accomplished
Snatched from
My horizon,
Moments designed never to
Be achieved
A swarming peace
Struggled to tame
The breath of the
Thing said,
But even in the calm
Of the panic,
Death's question sat in
My ear,
Asking,
Demanding,
Mocking;
"What have you ever done?"