I Will Not Walk

I will not walk on the names of the dead

These, the empty graves, where no pyres burnt no absolution
no rose raised

I cannot beg forgiveness from the lipless wanderers
no path long enough to stretch to the depths of the final night

I will not speak ill of the shades of the lost and silent

Hanging in the air, tumbling, amid the plumes of dust which choke the sun

Ageless the moment of giving in, final scene captured
on a million one-eyed machines
of a new and trembling America

I will not be the same man, the same person

I cannot change the vision

There is no going back, it’s all gone, that bliss of innocence
feeling of immortality
the armored veil has fallen

what is left is all broken, all torn asunder,
torn the skin of the outer eye

Empty graves and open hands

Eyes now gone to the blind of eternity

All fire and flames, now raise your hands
All fire and flames
All fire and flames, now close your eyes

And take the light


© 2007 JR Maston