The Time of Scars

If today I feel abandoned by

my grit, if the tides of

Ipra Certh suddenly reversed,

if a ruthless quake crushed my

spine, I will be beholden

to happenstance—though I've

never accepted such things

as random acts.

I’ve lived the time of scars,

when lampblack virulence

dripped its stain upon paladin

hearts forged in purity, and I

became that otherness—a

torn tapestry.

But I shall never be ended,

deftly invincible to unbidden

interposers aiming to sever

me from my innermost

communion.

I find the west coast sunsets

more​ to my liking, where

offshore winds speak with

clarity.