TROY.

I am the hand that casts grains
And the torch that burns silos
The farmer, the harvest
The deeper and the well
Shallow, thirstier
Weaker, stronger
By varying degrees

I am God's hand
And the devil's hoof
Stomping, snuffing
Turning hearths to ash
Ashen and shallow
Weaker, lower
Deeper, darker
I am labyrinthine
and the Minotaur.

I am the arsonist
Inflamer of passions
Igniter of all crimsons
Watcher, observer
Culprit and burner,
Alighting the coiled tapestries
Of men and women and neither
Or both
Brighter, dimmer
Then, invariably, ashen
A decrescendo
Or a fall
A slippery slope
Or a cliff.

I am that which lays siege to castles
The Roman that levies ruin
As tax
Heavier, lighter
By varying mood
I am he who casts angels
And he who casts out angels
Emissary
Or God's left hand
Kinder, crueler
By varying description
And condition

I am he who yearns
Endlessly burns
The lament and the casket
Eulogy and griever
Louder, softer
Stronger
Living no longer
But not quite dead.

I am the unchanging waver
The siren and the sailor
The voice and the torture
I am the sundered planks of shipwreck
And the lives lost
And never found
I am the sing-song
Louder, softer
Weaker, stronger
Crueler, kinder
By varying tone or melody

I am the alchemist
Grinder, liar
I am the pestle
And the mortar
And the grain in-between
Ground down to Dust
Dust, Dust, Dust
Dust to turn jade to gold
And young to old
And all others towards ruin

But I stand amongst kings
And plead among beggars
I am the trigger and the trap
The lure and the beast
And the lion, hooked
The skinner and the knife
And the pelted mess, loosed
Bloodied but no less heartless.

I am the fading
And the appearing
The appearances and the deceit
The liar and the lie
Crueler, kinder
But a liar nonetheless

But I am also his weakness
And his strength.
His last song before sleep
And his crow to him by daylight.
Or moonlight.
I am the emptiness
And the unfilled
The bowl on the sun and the stars
And on the man
Plague and redemption
Heaven and Hell.

Or maybe I'm purpose
Weaker, stronger
Lesser, crueler
A ruler, despotic
Stronger than the last, though weaker she was
A bastard successor reclaimed
Free or shackled
High or grounded
Towering in locked palisades
Commander or commandment
Or commanded commander
Murderer and victim,
judge and jury alike
And executioner
Murderer

But I too stand at the gates
Read from the book of afflictions
And cast them upon him
Indiscriminate but fastidious
Imprudent and frivolous
Furious and indignant
But complacent
Arbiter, archivist
And eraser of the histories.

I am the loneliness and the companion
The prison and the sun
And the moon and the stars
The sentry and the keys
Skeleton keys
Jailor and liberator
Liar and soothsayer
Lieutenant or traitor,
But Master all the same.

 

TROY.