by Nick Gisburne
Forgotten faces, studies of neglect
A gallery of torment and despair
The portraits, painted evil, resurrect
Awakened by the poison of a prayer
They crawl through frame and canvas to return
A slick and oily swarm of brutes and beasts
Oblivion. For this alone they yearn
Enslaved, they serve the pleasure of the priests
A sacrifice, delivered to their touch
A boy, a victim, stolen in the night
The flowing phantoms circle, clasp and clutch
Directed by a force they cannot fight
The dawn reveals a dark, disturbing frame
A painted face, a child without a name
