Serenity swirls in the poison,
anxiety is gasping for air.
Brilliance ignites between the lines
as I catch something
in the corner of my eye.
I turn, only for it to vanish,
as though mere intention will banish
it from existence.
I awake – thrown out of Celephaïs
and thrust back into the river of time!
My hands are held fast
in the vines of self deception
– anxiety is strangling me!
The Serpent slithers down the branches
and sibilates, “Eternity is perpetually
lurking in the present moment.
But it won’t be caught!
Fulfillment? Fulfillment rose
with your sacrificial smoke
and stole the throne from tomorrow!”
If a serpent could smile
I swear this one would.
But I’m terrified it might be true!
Was the lie too beautiful?
Perhaps this fitful pursuit of virtue,
perhaps this dalliance with vice,
despite the sagacity of our fathers,
began at the same conclusion?
The Same Conclusion
