![]() Prescience of a DisappearanceA Poem by An Enigmatic Mystique![]() A narrative poem about the historical disappearance of Benjamin Bathurst, a British ambassador during the Napoleonic Wars.![]() There is prescience in a historical
disappearance. It fascinates people for all time, a
strange and wild mystery. Sometimes, history does not tell
everything that it hides. Some pieces of the puzzle are lost
to time, leaving incomplete pictures, Unresolved closure, a riddle
without an answer, Unsolved enigmas with nary an
explanation. Perhaps some mysteries are destined
to be lost to history, Uncharted territories never to be
fully explored. But some mysteries do not always
stay hidden. Sometimes, there are secrets buried
under uncharted waters. One disappearance has haunted me,
like an encroaching shadow. During the Napoleonic Wars, Europe
was held in terror. Countless fears, countless strife,
under the French Empire’s looming shadow. Many feared the rise of the French,
and they shook in terror at the incoming threat. In this time of chaos, was a
British diplomat. Benjamin Bathurst, a man of great
intrigue. He was a watchful guardian, watching
over his terrified people. In a time of strife, he was a
torchbearer of diplomacy. Napoleon raised hell across Europe,
Benjamin helped fan the flames. He lived inside a Prussian inn,
where he stayed for a while. In a distant town, far from the
chaos across the continent. He was a fair brunette man, a
charismatic bridge builder. He helped keep the alliances of
Europe under a steady union. His work was important, as he kept
fiery thirsts for tension quenched. It would be bad for such an important
ambassador to disappear. I lived next to him, while we rode
out the war in Prussia. I was a loyal attendant, a
diplomat’s emissary. I remembered hearing of Napoleon’s
rampage with fearful anticipation. A storm of conflict raged through
Europe, with every nation swept up in it. Many a man feared Napoleon’s fiery
outrage, and the bonfire he struck. I was not only an ambassador’s
attendant, but his devoted friend. I was devoted to a brave diplomat, to
his quest to quench the flames of war. We stayed at a Prussian inn, one
night. There was nary another enemy in sight. Benjamin told me everything would
be fine. We were just going to take a short
trip, A warm hearth to settle in, a fire
to keep us thawed. There was nary a suspicious eye,
nary any shadowing danger. We did not notice any vile menace,
nor any vicious predator. The inn’s keeper was welcoming, a
light in a continent’s darkness. For a while, I was sure that we
were safe, with no horrors coming from the night. We slept side by side, and I acted like a close watchman. If I knew my ward had disappeared,
I would have made a raucous alarm. But I never heard a sound when he
was gone. I woke up one day, and he was gone,
vanished like smoke. Nobody could find him, and neither
could I. It was as if he had suddenly fell
from the earth, not a sound to be found. No evidence, not even a sign of
struggle. He was there one moment, and then
he vanished into the wind. A ghostly apparition, leaving not a
trace, a phantom inn tenant. We looked everywhere, and he did
not leave a trace. No sudden footprints, no object out
of place. During the chaos of war, we had
forgotten our global conductor. Our conductor of harmony, of peace,
gone during times of war. The beast had been unleashed
throughout Europe, A key to our continent’s peace,
forever disappeared. Like a whisper in the wind,
Benjamin was gone. Benjamin vanished into nothingness,
like a puzzle piece lost to time. I raved about his kidnapping, as I
knew Benjamin was stolen. He was a valuable commodity,
something many people would want. But why? Why kidnap such a soul? He was an important diplomat �" of
course many a b*****d would come. He was a valuable target, a grand
prize, a conflict’s bargaining chip. But many did not have proof, but it
was a possibility. Benjamin could not just have been
kidnapped. There was many a reason for such a
man to disappear. Perhaps many knew of his
importance, his clear golden value. Perhaps, he was a spy, an eye
hiding behind dangerous events. It would make sense, a global
diplomat being a global mastermind. I knew Benjamin for most of my
life, but you cannot open a man’s mind. You cannot peer into the deepest
parts of a man’s psyche. Benjamin was an ambassador between
nations, building bridges in conflicts. Benjamin could have been many
things, given his diplomatic guise. As the Napoleonic Wars rage on, no answers
have answered this question. Benjamin was just another casualty
of war, a victim of national lies, A chess piece in the espionage of governments,
A vital part of the web of manipulations.
I peer through a foggy mirror,
trying to retrace my steps. Trying to find out what happened to
Benjamin. But a foggy mirror shows only an
opaque image. The true picture may never come to
life. It has been years since his
disappearance, but many will still search. A diplomat leaves many ripples,
even if he was a small stone. His ripples may extend throughout
history, Many will still try to look through
the foggy mirror, To find a truth to his mysterious
fate. Perhaps in the future, many will
still ponder the diplomat’s fate. Perhaps the prescience of a
disappearance has an immortal appeal. Everyone loves a good mystery, a
great puzzle to solve. Many puzzle pieces go missing
overtime, leaving open gaps. Gaps that thirst for answers, that
beg to be filled. Benjamin was one of those gaps, one
of those empty mysteries. His disappearance was like the
disappearance of many. A man who simply fell from the
earth, never to be seen again. Maybe I wish I could finish that
puzzle. Even if I did not find him, at
least a finality would be achieved. An answer to the riddle of
Benjamin’s vanishing. But that may never come, after all. Some mysterious disappearances are
often left unsolved. © 2023 An Enigmatic MystiqueAuthor's Note
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StatsAuthor![]() An Enigmatic MystiqueBurnaby, BC, CanadaAboutI am a novice writer who enjoys writing short stories and poems. I like to explore imaginative concepts, as they allow me to explore interesting ideas. more..Writing
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