On nights when I watched the world sleep
And guarded you from the moans of ghosts
Who hid in the darkness like fish in the sea
You penned love letters in invisible ink
And mailed silent words to me.

When the cloak of death fluttered around me
Engulfing others in morbid screams at random
Dropping them like targets in a fairground gallery
To the laughter of crowds yearning for prizes
You watched yourself in the house of mirrors.

Each time I reached within myself to hold on
While dueling with the hooded vermin of fear
Claiming a stay of execution as victory
And exhaustion as a reward for the effort
You threw translucent lifelines made of mist.

As others unfurled linen paper surrounding gifts
And gazed upon smiles frozen in color
Scented with the flowers of distant hearts
Signed by the stretched fingers of yearning
You tied bows in your hair and forgot.

When this weary warrior became a crystal soldier
Seeking warm light upon curio shelves
There to be remembered and housed in care
Protected from the children of darkness
You bought a ceramic clown and walked away.


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First Place, Webstatic Poetry Contest, First Half 2000
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