this tide is roaring, edging me
through darkness and infinity
a driveling, frothing eulogy
for all my darkest history
keeper keep the flames alight
my beacon through this murky night
i will not drown in saline might
a growling foul maw gripping tight
beset by albatross' weight
i cannot rewrite yesterday
forgiveness comes in lashes laid
upon the flesh of debts yet paid
but moneylenders have no eyes
their currency is shattered lives
my sins are now immortalized
upon the tapestry of pride
an oubliette is self-imposed
a cage, sans bars, i was alone
how quick the guilty cancer grows
when conscience sinks deep into bones
yet all is past, i cannot dwell
within the spouts where phantoms swell
and cuts the light from beacon's tell
to guide me through nostalgic hell
(C) Sean Fortner 2011
