In the silence of the black night

My eyes follow the black ink

On crisp white sheets

And I see a world of possibilities

Imaginary and alive.

 

Yesterday I was a Celtic warrior

Striding up mountains with confidence and strength;

I felt the morning sun on my shoulders

Pushing me on towards

The king’s court,

Where I will be honored

For the battle I have won. 

 

My fellows smirked at my smug grin

When the sun set

And rabbit roasted on the roaring fire

They all dreamt of a quiet life on the coast

Or deep in the smog-filled moors

But I,

I dreamt of another adventure, another night

Beneath the stars. 

 

Today I am a Roman general

Using the powerful words of my hero Cicero; --

“The enemy is within our gates, good sirs;

It is within our own luxury, our own folly,

Our own criminality that we have to contend.” --

I feel the silk of his persuasion on my lips –

I have the senators’ attention,

I grip them tight.

 

Their jaws are slack and I feel pride

Until the guards receive the signal

And I am put in chains for this truth;

I have angered the men who have given me

My title and my name,

But it is the senators who have lost the trust of their people.

My last words before my execution are another truth:

“The more laws, the less justice.”

 

In the silence of the black night

I close another volume.

I find my solace

When the world is quiet

And I feel icy shivers down my spine

 With every new story.