Monday 30 August 2021

The Children of the Dead

by Nick Gisburne



Suspended from the sacrificial tree
An offering of reverence and greed
Monstrosities, erupting from the sea
Inspect my broken body as I bleed
Assaulted by emotion, empty, weak
Their presence chokes the marrow of my bones
A light, a life, is all these creatures seek
Selected by a casting of the stones
A pin could surely prick the deadly hush
A fog of menace suffocates the sky
The scavengers, retreating with a rush
Anticipate my final, fatal sigh
    When all my strength and stamina have fled
    My soul will feed the children of the dead