Black Aggie

Monument of grief carven in eternal stone Wordless image of all-consuming despair Angel of sadness robed in folded wings Suicide immortalized in hewn granite Vain, proud Frenchman, hero of countless wars Came over the sea, a hunter of the alps Took twelve bullets for the army of the north Swaggered with a rattle of accumulated lead The years carried ever on and on General Agnus found himself a loving wife Decades of prosperity at a newspaper's helm The time had come to see to the family plot A good patch of land in Druid Ridge Restful bed for weary bones No plain stone would do for a legacy like his In his search, he found the embodiment of grief Dead-eyed stare draped in the shadow of anguish Face of the grief angel haunted every waking thought Felix had himself a copy made Clandestine casting in the black of night Fought tooth and nail to keep his ill-got prize Carved in dismal grey, spartan to the bone An inscription below bore the name "Agnus" The grave site reeked of a mind fixed on death Annie passed in '22 Death took Agnus in '25 Buried at the feet Of that dead-eyed effigy of gloom Innocuous grey under the brightness of the sun Under the light of the moon, an impenetrable black As the bells chime midnight, its eyes glow red Calling for the spirits of the madness-stricken dead Pilgrims gathered 'round, but were blinded by her eyes No living thing could grow where Black Aggie cast her gaze The stare of death took life unborn and life mature alike Boundless wellspring of mania, delirium and death Long years passed and the legends grew She was defiled, defaced and disfigured Finally moved to where she could do no harm Until grief's gaze lands on another hapless soul