The Horseman: A Slam Poem

Don’t chase the horseman.
He rides and rides and he’ll always outrun you.
He tempts you to buy a life, to go just a little faster.

Every step you take
Is the final step, until you look forward and you see, you say,
He’s so close.

Only one more step.

And when a life gets in the way,
when the horseman is fading into the day,
Even though you know he’s not going away,
Even though you see past his facade,
Even though you know it’s a trick to push you forward,
You take that life and you throw it away.
And the horseman slows again, just out of reach.

No, don’t follow him once, because once you do, he’s there forever.

His saddle of gold is all that you see,
You run faster than the autumn breeze.
He flashes glimpses of a treasure because he knows that a glimpse is all you need.
To keep you running, oh take heed.

Your feet will hurt, but not as much as the villages you burned on your way.
Because he’s right there, always just out of sight!
How can something be wrong, when it feels so right?

You can see the monster you’ve become.
You can hear your friends shout, as you drive the knife farther.

You can shut the door
In your cottage by the sea,
That you bought with stolen memories.
You can shout no more!
And you can put your pride to the gallows
But he’s still there, waiting in the shadows.

Even though he’s in front of you, he’s behind you too.
Watching, waiting,
until he’s ready

He slows when you think you want him to,
he slows when you lower your last defense in favor of him.

The wind will stop singing.

It’s then that you realize what you did.
When you look back, and then turn to see him standing there.

When you look into his eyes with a heavy heart as he holds out a bag that seemed so fat and full before, you see. All it contains now is an empty rib cage.

And when the chase is done?
He’s smiling.

Because he’s already won.