Oar

A sick man snarls and

Court jester frowns, thin lines

Like moonlit paths in old walled towns.

It all looks the same; queens of cadence,

Knights of game, and meanwhile

The lips of pride remain undrawn.

Kingdom capsized,

War in waves and tides

Saturates me sore,

I'm raw,

And felt my hands slip from the oar.

Descending from the ecstasy you'll find

It's all just rubble left

and I

I should be scared

By stagnant affairs

Growing over

weeks and months

The emaciation creeps

Justice denies the answers

With her blade sheathed.

Slack needs shrink into a circle;

The hopeless motion feeds the headless beast —

Are you the living tongue or ivory teeth?

Disdain is but a crucifix

That marks a trench where complaints sleep,

Idols are the substance

Of a sour truth that seeps.

We sink beneath;

Hold breath, swim and breach

Tasting old life where driftwood meets.

Kingdom capsized,

War in waves and tides

Saturates me sore,

I'm raw,

And felt my hands slip from the oar.

Descending from the ecstasy you'll find

It's all just rubble left

and I

I should be scared

By stagnant affairs

When the promises come unstuck

I'm left to steady the oar