The Dawn of Dusk's Goodbye
The Dawn of Dusk’s Goodbye
She picks it up with heavy heart
And then it starts to glide
Through rivers red; she falls apart -
The Dawn of Dusk's goodbye.
"What is this place?" she asks the man
Who watches her awake,
Standing there with scythe in hand
Waiting for soul to take.
Without a word, he joins her side.
He keeps his head hung low.
Then takes her hand to be her guide
Toward the distant glow.
Her hand in his, she feels at peace,
But doesn't quite know why
As if his touch makes all pain cease,
Set free, like crow to sky.
On they walk from place to place,
Through memories and lands
Where darkness falls on every face
Like Time's forgotten sands.
A teardrop tumbles off his chin.
She asks him why he's there,
Wand'ring lands of others' sin
Alone, without a prayer.
"I've wandered here for many years
To meet a certain need.
Escorting souls and calming fears
Are portions of my creed.
All souls pass on through this space
Before they pay life's cost.
...It breaks my heart to see a face
As young as yours here, lost..."
"With due respect, you don't know me
And all that I've been through.
My life - to you - seems short, but see,
was longer than you knew!"
Touching her face, he says "I know...
I felt your every tear;
I saw your birth and watched you grow,
and all that led you here.
Soon you'll see, my dearest girl,
Just what a death implies;
For past those Gates of Gold and Pearl
You won't believe your eyes."
She stopped the man, "Before you go-"
His cloak blew in the wind.
"Anything that I should know?
You know... because I've sinned...?"
"You need not worry, my dear girl,
I know you are afraid.
The toll ahead that you would owe,
You need not fear - it's paid."
"What did he mean?" she asked the Saint
When she got to the gate.
"My child, you've only just begun
To realize your fate:
The hooded man who walks away,
He gave his life and bought
What none could pay one fateful day -
He died so you might not."
- A. J. Darkholme (March 2016)