Diabolique

Southern Gothic 7/29/2011

The trees form a canopy
And the Spanish moss hangs
Heavy and decadent
In the moist and sultry air.

Time is still
As I walk through the streets
Spanning the centuries
In weathered stones.

The squares line up
Just as they were
But I am different
Than I was then
Aged and beaten.

But wisdom makes me pause
And see the old houses
Not through dreams
But through heartache
And despair.

Something has happened
And something has been lost
Even though the walls remain
The insides have rotted away.

They are buried at Bonaventure
Under the gaze of sculptured angels
With haunting eyes
And pitted with time.

It was silent that day
And I could hear my footsteps
Bouncing back from a distance
Exposing my presence
As a foreigner
In a strange land.

I have been here before
But never have I been so humble
Or careful not to question
But merely just to breath
And absorb.

I thought I knew everything
But a wise man
Should know his limits
And that God’s peace
Surpasses all understanding.

I lived furiously
And devoured all I had
Running headlong into disaster
With rebellion on my lips.

But now I understand silence
And now I truly live
Soaking in all its joy
As I watch my children play.

And I can appreciate
The romantic state of grace
Even in the stately ruins
Overcome by ivy
And so beautiful.

My dreams have grown
As I have shrank
And no longer do I weep
For what is lost
But I hope for what remains.

There are some lessons
That all men should learn
And there is also kindness
In every warning.

That even the most beautiful
Time and place
Both elegant and quaint
Is but a wisp of smoke.

We struggle to grasp memories
And we try to recreate love in our heads
But you can’t put your arms around smoke
And you can’t kiss a memory.

But rather we are left to choose
What it is that we treasure
Whether we are slaves to feelings
Or captains of our heart.

Because feelings escape
And drown in the cross current
While we flounder
And flail
But love is something much greater
That must understand before we know.

To choose a future
Before we have the dreams
And to know what is right
And stand by it
Until the end.

A richer fuller love
Full of promise
But only for the patient
And the forgiving.

The past is only as enchanted
As the future we recreate
And tomorrow only as hopeful
As what we choose to be.



Diabolique 7/29/2011

You don’t have to search
Because the enemy is close
Right behind and beside you
Everywhere you look.

It’s not what you know
Or even what you suspect
That takes away your breath
And leaves you choking on blood.

It is a sudden horror
Just when your guard is down
Because evil is patient
And never misses a chance.

Evil will creep in the cracks
And kill from the inside out
Slow at first
But deadly in the end.

Once you notice the pain
It is already too late
And you have already lost the battle
But have only a chance to die
With dignity and honor.

The past is behind us
But the future is filled with violence
Because we waited too long
There isn’t much left to decide.

But to protect others
And execute the punishment
Before our heart gives out
And we fall into death.

I tired with all my heart
And I did everything I could
Taking my chances
And taking the risks
Just to save
And just to have.

I wanted to have my family
So I gave all I could
But I was stabbed straight through
From back to front
And now I am bleeding
And cannot be saved.

I learned something
Something I never knew
That we are more than bodies
And our will is strong.

I can come back
And I can survive
Not the same but different
And ready to shake the world.

The horror has come back
And the destroyer shall be destroyed
The end collapsing upon itself
And the prey shall become the killer
And take back what was lost.

The places have been traded
But the game isn’t over yet
Because time and conscience
Shall loop over
As the dragon swallows his tail.

I shall be a mystery
As my thoughts tower above
Flowing downwards through the walls
Howling and gnashing my teeth.