Prologue - Spirited Away

For years I'd heard the winds calling my name,
Stealing my sleep with gales of searing frost;
Haunting me and spitting sleet in my eyes.
For so long had I heard these primal cries.
"Hear us, face us, feel us, find what is lost!"
Then suddenly; no longer names, but need.
"You whose dirge I've heard, where does this road lead?"
Incremental howls of indignation;
Questions answered by bickering chatter.
This storm carried the smell of damnation!
Too deep the snow and too hot the embers.
"Dreamer, seeker, fall not into despair,
And nor should you ask, lest you care to know!"
Why me? Feelings of fear and thoughts of prayer,
To the ticks of a clock I heard them talk
As I drifted out of my bed, my world.
"Tell me then; what about my earthly life?
Must I leave my body to join some strife?"
"Leave your vessel and receive a new one,
Forfeit your life and you shall be reborn."
A light appeared in the midst of my room,
Beckoning entrance to a godly womb.

Part one - Angelic Sacrifice

I found myself thus in a realm of war,
Traversing ghastly plains of blood and gore.
Upon my back, a pair of mighty wings;
Bones and sinew creaking, my frame changing.
A thousand bloody stakes leading the way,
Rows of poles impaling countless Angels,
And riding the winds were Anguish and Pain.
"Mortal, free us from this prison of Hell!"
Their leader, the most brilliant of them all
A halo floating above his white hair;
Eyes boring into my soul, my center.
"What has happened here, what ever happened?
Is this real? What are you, and where am I?"
"Free us first, your human soul is needed."
Silence - rustling of feathers on stained wings -
The tense breaths of a thousand angels held.
"We need but a piece, mortal, end our pain!"
And in the dull thunders of dripping blood
The part of a soul was given away.
Exhausted wings were spread with tortured gasps,
A newborn man fell screaming to the ground;
The sacrifice for hope, a war to come.

Part two – Questions

Gone were the rust red poles, the brutal stakes,
No rotting corpses on which to stumble.
The pain still lingered, in its newfound home;
A hidden place within me, now lacking a piece.
I gave, I received; the trade was even.
Surrounding me were these beings of Light;
Talking in a tongue that made my head ache.
"Please, tell me! Tell me everything! Why me?"
Their crackling debate abruptly halted.
"Not just you, Newborn, but thousands other.
As for why? Some dream with their minds open,
Giving us entrance, not much, but enough.
Then again, there are some who actively seek,
The reasons for which will remain unknown."
"But why? What's happening? Is there a God?"
"Soon there will be war, a chance for justice;
It's happened before; you saw the result.
The world is ravaged by chaos and death,
Why is this, you wonder? Who do you think won?
There is no one God, Newborn, we ARE God."
"Why do you call me so? Am I still human?"
"You're a Soldier. Reborn with Wings of War."

Part three – Battle

The earth itself shook in violent trembles
Beneath the armies gathered on the plains.
On one side, the gleaming Host of Heaven,
On the other, the vast Horde of Darkness;
Facing each other in utter silence.
Then chaos. The two opposing armies
Joined as one in a merciless slaughter;
Six-winged Seraphim tearing Demon flesh,
Fallen Angels shrieking words of power.
My body moved then, on its own accord;
Leaping high into the air, sword in hand,
My wings buffeting crimson colored air.
A kaleidoscope of blood-filled madness.
But it soon became clear that it was futile.
For each enemy slain, ten took his place;
How could we be so vastly outnumbered?
Did I not fight for the Host of Heaven?
How? My newfound comrades were all dying!
"Flee! We must not, can not perish in vain!"
Feeling completely drained, I turned and fled.
I could still hear my pursuers shouting
As I landed, at the mouth of a cave.

Part four – The Lord of Embers

As I stepped inside, all light disappeared.
I was trapped, but safe. No sound could be heard,
Except a whispering crackle ahead.
I moved toward what I thought was the source;
Gathering what power I had left to see.
An endless stairway of stone, leading down.
At the end of the steps there were torches.
"And so you have come. But do come closer!"
Could the speaker truly be Lucifer?
His back held flawless wings, not seething stumps!
Eyes deep caves of molten stone, liquid fire.
Could such a perfect creature be evil?
He gazed upon me, and began to smile.
"Welcome, deceived one. Please, do not fear me."
"Deceived one? What do you mean? Is this the end?"
Flames caressed his frame, giving off rumbles.
"You have been wrongly manipulated;
Humans should not have been brought into this.
You see, this is our eternal struggle,
And ours alone; as it should always have been."
"I don't understand. Was it all for naught?"
He chuckled. "Come, there is much to discuss."

Part five – Answers

We had ventured deeper into the earth,
A journey that had seemed to last for days.
Sitting down in front of a great fireplace
He produced two glasses of scarlet wine.
"Now, what ever am I to do with you?
You must have a multitude of questions,
Some of which I can answer, some I can't"
His voice was so disarming; such a spell!
"You said I have been deceived. Why is this?"
Yet a secret smile. "There is no justice.
Forget everything you have been taught.
Oh yes, I am ambitious, that is true,
But so are the pawns of Heaven as well.
They said they are God, if I am correct?"
"That they did. There is no one God, they said."
His face contorted, his eyes gleaming red;
"The insolence! They killed their Creator;
Like they fed on your soul, they devoured Him,
My Father, they took him away from me!
We all strove for power, they went too far!"
Emanating waves of heat, he finished;
"There is no Justice but Retribution."

Epilogue – Retribution

To this day I can't begin to fathom
Why he even told me those things he did,
Or why he left me with my life intact.
Could it simply have been a Devil's act?
I woke up safe in my bed, drenched in sweat;
With aching scars where there should have been wings.
There is one thing I will never forget,
In a world of politics and petty kings,
There is no such thing as perfect justice.
I have seen the forces of Dark and Light;
They are without compare to human spite.
My world will never be the same again,
A crucial piece inside is missing still;
Where my soul should be, sordid lies remain.
The day will come when I return to claim
What was given away on evil terms.
As I was sent back to the earthly realm,
I heard him whisper softly in my ear;
"The damage has been done, but do not fear;
There is no Justice but Retribution."
The winds still call my name, but now I know,
What awaits me, and to whom I shall bow.




Poetry by Thomas Selnes
Read 992 times
Written on 2007-03-26 at 20:34

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