by Pavel Chichikov
His mind is strong and young, his body fails –
Nine decades royal no longer can repair
Rebellious heart, and lungs that abdicate from air
He rules misapprehensions, insecurities
And compensates with gracious courtesies
Yet his thinning blood bleeds in his hands
Royal ramparts fall – arteries that run
Inside the heart, still covered from the sun,
Will soon be excavated by decay
A living kingdom burrowed in a hill,
His body isolated from the will
Reveals a skull and turns the face away
Old king who loathes and quarries into death,
He's frightened now and shows what frightens him
In every glance – he excavates each breath
Now do not Lear buried life away –
Fear and rage are useless in this place
Though helpless is the instinct of dismay
It is the time arriving that you knew
Before, and after leaving you will know –
Sovereign self, discharge the soul
Visit Pavel's website at Grey Owl Press.
