I tread carefully,
My footsteps soft,
As if on a cloud,
Small swirls of sky swish and spin
As the soles of my shoes
Timidly kiss the earth–
Not with a warm touch
But with a cold fear
Of reawakening
The beasts that reside
In this godforsaken place.
They don’t look it,
But they are as dangerous
As a fake mirror.
As I creep past their still bodies,
Encased in a thin layer of ice,
Their greedy red eyes shift and follow me,
Alive with an animalistic thirst
For the time that flows through my body,
The timeless, empty husks,
Trapped in time, unable to flow through it,
Unable to change, inanimate,
Each with a defined
Beginning, middle, and end,
Carved in stone,
Created by man’s hubris,
His search for wealth.
I wonder if they would still create them
If they knew the harm they inflict.
Good intention has no effect
On our blue-shifted world.
A shame I must walk this path,
A tense treaty balancing on mutual need,
A simple trade really:
Time for knowledge
And knowledge for time.
Like a line of statues
Marking the path to heaven or hell,
They lure me in, like a moth to the flame,
Promising meaning,
A laugh, a revelation,
A potion of pleasure,
A drop of delight,
An escape to Elysium.
I reach for that fruit,
Heading toward the inviting face
Of what I know to be a beast,
But that doesn’t matter as there is
No future, right? Only the now.
My mind relaxes as I set the table for
The grinning beast, smirking, satisfied as
I lay my mind upon a plate
And fill a glass with my future.
There is a slight discomfort,
To the bliss I find myself in–
A pestering, irritating feeling,
Like a cat scratching at my brain.
What am I doing here?
My world breaks,
And all I can think to do is run.
The air is like glass as it shatters,
My nerves shriek as
The shards pierce my skin.
The air crashes into me,
Slamming me to the ground,
My eyes squelch as though
Crushed in an iron vice.
I open my eyes
I find myself face to face with
The familiar gravel of the path.
Thank the gods.
I was lucky.
That cannot happen again.
This place,
This damn place,
So useful, but
So dangerous, and misleading –
I swear if Pandora had a second box,
I was in it.
With a sigh I begin to walk forward once more,
Trying to keep my eyes down,
Focused on the path in front of me,
Moving with great haste to
Find the oasis in this wasteland.
I know the doom that should
Await me should I wander off the trail.
Eyes down, foot forward.
Eyes down, foot forward.
Foot forward.
Foot forward.
I raise my eyes slightly,
The light gently skimming
Over the horizon of my vision.
A symphony of serenity dives into
The quiet tide pools within my wide eyes.
The sky, an artist's canvas,
Painted in hues of celestial blues,
Adorned with a flaming sunset
That dances upon the horizon,
Evoking awe in my heart,
Long starved of beauty.
Green meadows bloom with resplendent colors,
The scent of blossoms perfuming the gentle breeze.
Trees sway in a ballet of grace, offering shelter and solace,
Their leaves sing a melody of peace.
In this oasis, time's tyranny fades,
Each moment a precious gem
In an eternal tapestry.
My knees all but collapse from under me
As my eyes struggle to absorb
The pulsing waves of purity
That stream into them.
Compared to the struggle along the trail,
It is as if I entered a different realm.
You know, I’ve been going for a good while,
I deserve a break —
A quick one,
I’d be a fool not to appreciate this paradise,
And I won’t be long,
A quick stop,
And I’ll get right back on the trail.
The sun glides across the sky,
Just out of reach of the mountains
That stretch up into the sky,
Yearning to touch true divinity.
Lying upon a grass field in the rolling hills,
I smile more than I ever have.
The summer breeze glides across the hill,
The grass itself seems to shake off its troubles and relax.
The wind tenderly kisses my exposed skin,
Wrapping me up like a warm blanket.
Ah, when the sun sets I will depart this place,
But for now, I can relax.
The sun is nearing the horizon,
Sinking imminently toward
The open mouths of the
Snow-coated mountain peaks.
I close my eyes for a moment,
And when I open them,
As the glowing ball of light
Sinks below the skyline,
Another, equally brilliant,
Appears on the other side of the sky.
I haven’t quite gotten my fill,
I should really get back on track,
But my legs still ache with the effort
Of the arduous hike.
It is far more comfortable to
Reside here for a time.
There are more rises and sets of the sun yet to come,
To feel the salty nectar run down my throat,
Even as I drink in this world, I feel drained,
As though I am the meal being consumed,
The drink being drunk.
In the back of my mind, I know
This isn’t right,
But my arm reaches out to fill
Another glass before I can stop myself,
Delicious,
It was almost there.
Still, I can feel my being siphoned,
I try drinking more,
In a desperate effort
To stop my mind and body from flowing out.
To fill myself up with the euphoria that slipped from my hands.
Perhaps another,
Perhaps another,
Perhaps another…
Watching endless suns rise and fall across the sky,
My original quest long forgotten,
Searching for some happiness,
Trying to smile,
In a wasteland bathed in a seething inferno,
Where the scorching steam
Mercilessly assaults my motionless body,
Lying on that hill of jawless skulls,
Their forced smiles torn off long ago
By the weight of an endless sky of sorrow.
The only quench to my burning thirst,
A salt water well.
My footsteps soft,
As if on a cloud,
Small swirls of sky swish and spin
As the soles of my shoes
Timidly kiss the earth–
Not with a warm touch
But with a cold fear
Of reawakening
The beasts that reside
In this godforsaken place.
They don’t look it,
But they are as dangerous
As a fake mirror.
As I creep past their still bodies,
Encased in a thin layer of ice,
Their greedy red eyes shift and follow me,
Alive with an animalistic thirst
For the time that flows through my body,
The timeless, empty husks,
Trapped in time, unable to flow through it,
Unable to change, inanimate,
Each with a defined
Beginning, middle, and end,
Carved in stone,
Created by man’s hubris,
His search for wealth.
I wonder if they would still create them
If they knew the harm they inflict.
Good intention has no effect
On our blue-shifted world.
A shame I must walk this path,
A tense treaty balancing on mutual need,
A simple trade really:
Time for knowledge
And knowledge for time.
Like a line of statues
Marking the path to heaven or hell,
They lure me in, like a moth to the flame,
Promising meaning,
A laugh, a revelation,
A potion of pleasure,
A drop of delight,
An escape to Elysium.
I reach for that fruit,
Heading toward the inviting face
Of what I know to be a beast,
But that doesn’t matter as there is
No future, right? Only the now.
My mind relaxes as I set the table for
The grinning beast, smirking, satisfied as
I lay my mind upon a plate
And fill a glass with my future.
There is a slight discomfort,
To the bliss I find myself in–
A pestering, irritating feeling,
Like a cat scratching at my brain.
What am I doing here?
My world breaks,
And all I can think to do is run.
The air is like glass as it shatters,
My nerves shriek as
The shards pierce my skin.
The air crashes into me,
Slamming me to the ground,
My eyes squelch as though
Crushed in an iron vice.
I open my eyes
I find myself face to face with
The familiar gravel of the path.
Thank the gods.
I was lucky.
That cannot happen again.
This place,
This damn place,
So useful, but
So dangerous, and misleading –
I swear if Pandora had a second box,
I was in it.
With a sigh I begin to walk forward once more,
Trying to keep my eyes down,
Focused on the path in front of me,
Moving with great haste to
Find the oasis in this wasteland.
I know the doom that should
Await me should I wander off the trail.
Eyes down, foot forward.
Eyes down, foot forward.
Foot forward.
Foot forward.
I raise my eyes slightly,
The light gently skimming
Over the horizon of my vision.
A symphony of serenity dives into
The quiet tide pools within my wide eyes.
The sky, an artist's canvas,
Painted in hues of celestial blues,
Adorned with a flaming sunset
That dances upon the horizon,
Evoking awe in my heart,
Long starved of beauty.
Green meadows bloom with resplendent colors,
The scent of blossoms perfuming the gentle breeze.
Trees sway in a ballet of grace, offering shelter and solace,
Their leaves sing a melody of peace.
In this oasis, time's tyranny fades,
Each moment a precious gem
In an eternal tapestry.
My knees all but collapse from under me
As my eyes struggle to absorb
The pulsing waves of purity
That stream into them.
Compared to the struggle along the trail,
It is as if I entered a different realm.
You know, I’ve been going for a good while,
I deserve a break —
A quick one,
I’d be a fool not to appreciate this paradise,
And I won’t be long,
A quick stop,
And I’ll get right back on the trail.
The sun glides across the sky,
Just out of reach of the mountains
That stretch up into the sky,
Yearning to touch true divinity.
Lying upon a grass field in the rolling hills,
I smile more than I ever have.
The summer breeze glides across the hill,
The grass itself seems to shake off its troubles and relax.
The wind tenderly kisses my exposed skin,
Wrapping me up like a warm blanket.
Ah, when the sun sets I will depart this place,
But for now, I can relax.
The sun is nearing the horizon,
Sinking imminently toward
The open mouths of the
Snow-coated mountain peaks.
I close my eyes for a moment,
And when I open them,
As the glowing ball of light
Sinks below the skyline,
Another, equally brilliant,
Appears on the other side of the sky.
I haven’t quite gotten my fill,
I should really get back on track,
But my legs still ache with the effort
Of the arduous hike.
It is far more comfortable to
Reside here for a time.
There are more rises and sets of the sun yet to come,
To feel the salty nectar run down my throat,
Even as I drink in this world, I feel drained,
As though I am the meal being consumed,
The drink being drunk.
In the back of my mind, I know
This isn’t right,
But my arm reaches out to fill
Another glass before I can stop myself,
Delicious,
It was almost there.
Still, I can feel my being siphoned,
I try drinking more,
In a desperate effort
To stop my mind and body from flowing out.
To fill myself up with the euphoria that slipped from my hands.
Perhaps another,
Perhaps another,
Perhaps another…
Watching endless suns rise and fall across the sky,
My original quest long forgotten,
Searching for some happiness,
Trying to smile,
In a wasteland bathed in a seething inferno,
Where the scorching steam
Mercilessly assaults my motionless body,
Lying on that hill of jawless skulls,
Their forced smiles torn off long ago
By the weight of an endless sky of sorrow.
The only quench to my burning thirst,
A salt water well.