The Inevitable
This
crypt of tepid moss and waning sky,
Of angry woods and misty vales,
Is only fitting for a mortal lie;
With hooks and wire brought to catechize,
Their yellow teeth and grinning, hollow eyes
Will chain the soul, and take its veilèd prize.
Her crime yet uncommitted, foul, but fair,
Temptation lying by her side,
His weakness rotting in her clothes and hair,
She sighs and cries and dies, and so belies
Her yearning and her pride. Her beau decries
This mottled span, but cannot bridge their ties.
The raven lights upon her stone and grieves,
His bitter croak a crisp and tolling bark
Amid the lonely, holy churchyard leaves.
Another raptor meets the railing cry,
Her claws among the chilling dirt and rye,
And lifts her wing, her prize in hand, to fly.
No one knows their names; in this, they are all,
For those who die for love in dying give
Of all they have, amid the crypt of fall.
Thus lovers leave their beating hearts interred,
Side by side, their faded markers blurred,
And ride upon the hoary wings of birds.
Of angry woods and misty vales,
Is only fitting for a mortal lie;
With hooks and wire brought to catechize,
Their yellow teeth and grinning, hollow eyes
Will chain the soul, and take its veilèd prize.
Her crime yet uncommitted, foul, but fair,
Temptation lying by her side,
His weakness rotting in her clothes and hair,
She sighs and cries and dies, and so belies
Her yearning and her pride. Her beau decries
This mottled span, but cannot bridge their ties.
The raven lights upon her stone and grieves,
His bitter croak a crisp and tolling bark
Amid the lonely, holy churchyard leaves.
Another raptor meets the railing cry,
Her claws among the chilling dirt and rye,
And lifts her wing, her prize in hand, to fly.
No one knows their names; in this, they are all,
For those who die for love in dying give
Of all they have, amid the crypt of fall.
Thus lovers leave their beating hearts interred,
Side by side, their faded markers blurred,
And ride upon the hoary wings of birds.
SPECIAL NOTE: The above selection is an original work by the author, Jason Loeffler, and he retains all rights to its content. Publication requests can be made on the Jason's contact page.
