Untitled
Did you ever see things?
Things that would make the bravest man
quail?
I have
in my sleep...
In my dreams I've seen
myself.
Yet not me.
Different...
Cold...
Fearsome...
His claws leave deep scores
on my flesh
His gaze, eyes like white lanterns, burn
into my mind
His flayed and twisted flesh
colder than death's embrace
He holds me
glares at me
full of contempt
"You cannot be"
hissed, face half-obscured
"You should not be
You are a fallacy
a mistake"
A strike
like a serpent's fang
Pain encompasses me
I fall
he stands
my wings in his claws
"He should have killed you"
Frozen with hurt
I cannot answer
Frozen with confusion
I cannot run
I cannot fight
"It must be set right"
He lifts me
cradles me
carries me
like a helpless child
To the Sacrificial Cliffs
to the swirling waters below
"It must be set right
You must be like me
History abhors a paradox"
Falling, burning
Twisting, aching
My body
destroyed
floats to the bottom
rests in the soft sediment
like a child
upon his mother's breast
I die
I wake
tangled in my own sheets
swathed in a cloak of terror
of doubt
of wonder
wonder
Wondering which of us
is the true
me.