Ragged Tooth

What unknown face now breaks the silence? What tipping force disturbs the balance? Swift and sober, comes a voice, offering a bitter choice Take up a crime and serve the sentence, offer up a final penance Or dismantle colossus from deep inside, conspirators And those allied Gifts of bronze, iron, obsidian, from nave to chop Plunged and hidden Deep in the chests of those who cry, the songs of gods untrue The prayers to start or end the coup, forever silenced Like sulfur set to fire, blue flame is born To rip through homes and cleanse the town A new world rendered, an old world mourned The old world left to drown It draws closer with every step, push off with both feet Fall into the chasm, which will consume all March not to the drum, but off the beat Burst into the evening, cool air burns the lungs Fear not the turning heads, the darting glances, the lashing tongues The glowing eyes that burn like embers, fall painful on the skin Seething with hatred, and writhing in pain, they cast a ghastly grin Yet among the faces shrouded in horror, one truth prevails All who’ve ever come this far exclusively have failed Reach for the hand whose grasp is firm Whose blistered palms can confirm A kinship in a spiteful place With tender touch a warm embrace Though nights turn long and cold, and the warmth of the day escapes