Song of a Burning Shadow

Is this all that I've been left with,
A wounded spirit,
Naked for all to see?

Inept at birth,
Nothing prepared me for this,
This madness of divine design.

Your faith is not welcome here,
Here beneath this distant oak
Where animals give in to dying throes.

And I think that I've been here before,
Ragged and tattered,
Wicked and withered.

Seasons of decay,
As an old crumbling stone wall
Or vine-smothered grave.

When I look upon these rotten years,
A bitterness fills my crippled lungs,
Yet I remain, heels dug and teeth bared!

Hair unbound, fists clenched
Without restraint like flesh tearing
At snarling teeth upon wounded prey!

A thirst of a whetted savage heart
Thundering with fury unshackled
And veins aflame!

You want me to bleed?
Then go get the knife!
And I'll turn around!

But know, that if I am nearer to death,
No longer shadows will ever be cast,
And time shall never cover all your pain!

---

Originally written:    December 7, 2005
Put online:    December 9, 2005
Discussion:    The feeling of this poem is meant to be very pagan and animalistic. The character was intended to have a very animalistic feel and, indeed, it may be difficult to tell part way through if the character is animal or human (though he is human). The feeling should be one of an animal's final fight just before death, the adrenalin-fueled energy release in the hopes of prolonging life and the desire to exist. Though challenged, fight still remains in the character, a fight that will remain until the very death. It should be noted, however, that the character does not meet his end in this work and instead continues to do battle and resist. Finally, there is a warning in the last stanza that essentially portends bad things will happen if the character is closer to being destroyed.


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