Faces in the Sand

I.

Whether it had been
the shining round Moon,
the eye of light in the starless night
or rather the freezing touch
of the golden gentle sand,
I could not realize
which had found me
softly dragging my feet
in that majestically desert beach.

Desert! Oh Lord, how I wish
the place had truly been so.
For anywhere I looked
there was no one to be seen
neither gently lit by the cold white light
nor casted from the shadows of the darkened sea.

II.

Yet, my mind, my soul and ears
crumbled into agony upon the sound
of voices of despair, crime and lust,
as whips punished with threshing hand.

Cries, oh terrible cries!
but still no dying one – not around.
No one but me and my soul which,
stabbed, bled for these terrible howls.

And the misery finally won,
and I crumbled: my knees,
on fire, yet numb, I couldn’t hold straight
and I collapsed, never finding defeat so bright.

Relief cooled my body with an intense wave,
as ice – which never lacks its thaw. 
For I saw, but couldn’t describe
what laid before my unbelieving eyes. 

III.

From what I before thought was
a gentle coat of beautiful sand,
an endless army of cursed faces emerged
devouring my every step into the Palace of Death.

These figures rhythmically danced, changed
and in their stillness, shared their place,
generously trading an eyeball, a mouth
and voice, in despair to form a face.

Shrieks. Bellows. Laughter caused by sorrow.
Screams and sighs of agony. Misery.
A whole world of torments had found its owners,
which, crumbled, desperately clanged to the sand.

And with every step,
a new mercy cry seemed to take shape
trading its rueful sound of pain
for a voice claiming its wishes in vain.

Heard I did, as one cursed soul,
merely the remnant of a lover’s memory
swore and spat its foul damnations and hopes
proving his life had truly been low.

IV. (A lover’s tale)

“Loved I did, and love was all I knew,
for years and years, my mind drifted aloof
as moon after moon, night after night,
only her voice could bring me back to the light.

Well, she truly was mine, merely for a kiss,
and instantaneous eternity of heavenly bliss,
in which our lips met, and darkness came
for the light we caused, dimmed Heaven’s flame.

Yet, Darkness forgot that single day,
to blind Tragedy’s vengeful eyes,
claimed my love’s shining future
and pushed my heart into everlasting torture”.

The Fall

The shadows crept upon my sheets
and forbade the sweet sleep to close my eyes,
to release my gentle soul from the gloom
and the dark melancholy of those fearful nights.

For eight days I had dwelt
in the majestic manor of my sick friend
settling his angst, his fear of death
and burying his undead sister into a maze.

But that night the whirlwind unset me
and my host's mind broke apart,
as he whispered in silence the secret:
Madalaine's was still a beating heart.

And aghast I fled from the rotten mansion
and saw through the moon and the thunder
how the winds broke through the growing crack
and caused the fall of the House of Usher.

(A small tribute to Edgar Allan Poe)