Peat Cathedral

I walk in shadow Bearer of love Disciple of life.

I

Upon the blood haze horizon,

Fern and branch bask

In the sickly glow—

Acolytes of mire.

​

The land breathes in hiss

And sigh—it heaves banks of fog

Pluming, choking the sky.

​

II

Perched upon a wall of willow,

A pair of owls, watching--

With questioning eyes

​

My reply:

“I trawl these murky waters

In search of gilded flower:

Bloom of peace and twilight hour.”

​

With a gargoyle glower,

Right-bird stoops low:

“You better turn back kid,

And I’ll tell you why:

This place is death—

And love it will deny.”

​

To the left, a stony smile

And grey feathers ruffled

By a laugh of wile

​

“Ignore this ‘ol downer son,

For our bog is holy—

A temple of life

And a refuge for the lonely.”

​

The willows wailed in pendulum sway

As the cattails creaked open

And displayed the way.

​

III

I walk in light

​

Upon grassy aisle

Lush with the water of sanctum’s power

​

Beneath firefly liturgies

Flickering in cadent reverence

​

Before gilded altar

Wreathed in lily flower

​

It sits empty,

Barren.

IV

Bearer of Apathy

​

I sink to the dirt

Kneel before the hollow throne

And plead for an answer, for love

​

From the chapel briar

A dirge drifts

Gator bellow and Cicada choir

Shudder the earth as the chorus lifts:

​

“To the Blasphemer and Liar,

Hellfire! Hellfire!

To the Heathen and Denier,

Hellfire! Hellfire!”

​

Run from the noise

Run from the madness

Run from their words,

Full of hate and sadness

​

V

Disciple of Death

​

Deeper into the sludge I

Travel—ripping, tearing as

The dreams unravel

I hiss and I sigh—

The cypress inhales a reply:

Gnarls and knees rise from below,

Pull me, and I let go.

​

Embalmed in scarlet ichor,

I sink beneath the loam.

A Crypt of Isolation,

A Catacomb of the Soul.

​

Feedback:

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/94wu1f/goose_blood_lady/e3ownaa/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/94zbu0/the_thing_in_the_shadows/e3owxc2/?context=3

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