grizzled sail
Anchored
Cities crumble—ashes call even victims to pity.
Roars of agony coil inside a man; choices had him—
Yet he chose to steady another boat
While his own harbor decayed.
Down goes the man, down with his city.
To the depths he is anchored, for life deemed him ready.
The man wonders:
Is this heaven? Life almost feels freeing—
As the dagger sinks deeper into mortal skin.
Only then does he fight.
Only then is he frightened.
To the shore he reaches—
Deeper or shallow? Heaven knows.
Arms bloodied, nerves split open,
Blood seeping, heart hollowed,
Following the weight of what he chose.
For as he reached for his beloved—
The dagger he so trusted in her folds—
Even when she did not, he trusted with his soul.
He held the steel to his chest
And called it warmth.
It did not waver.
It did not break.
It entered.
Through flesh.
Through breath.
Through every fragile thing he built to call home.
Then he understood why hell felt so cold:
Lost was his warmth—
For his beloved
Never resided
In his home.
tacit nacelle
glacial cairn