The Kingdom

Experimenting with meter, rhyme and structure - although I'd like to add emphasis to the term experiment.

I

There are souls in this world
That are unlucky in their glowing.
Marred and marked as the lamplight is carried
Through thickets and brambles, twisted ironies and poisonous berries.

There are others that follow deer trails,
Foot trodden and benevolent -

Lighting with ease the carved path of least resistance.

Wisps brightened by innocence
In contrast to those by circumstance. 

II

There are souls in this world
That are bent backward in their growing -
The Gary Oaks reaching from the cliff upon the sea
Crawling and weaving against salt water erosion, the torrent and the breeze. 

Others stand tall beneath the daylight's beam,
Encompassed within bluff and grove -

Competing with voracity for soil, sand and every narrow alcove.

Pillars standing in varied unison 
Marking their presence along the horizon.

III

In this world there are souls
That are made predatory by hunger.
Growing talons and raking claws upon each and every other -
Shedding coats and washing bloodstains after a long and tiring winter.

Those without weapon keep ears trained on the treeline,
Narrow eyed and anxious at every footfall;

Quick to jump, bolt and run when nearby twigs are breaking,

Unaccustomed to spine, tooth and claw
And mortally afraid of the monster's dripping maw.

IV

In this world there are souls
Who have been given wide wings,
Catching currents for earth worms, insects and meat
All to bring home for the downy, chattering beaks of cotton offspring.

There are those that haunt graveyards,
Battlefields and corpses -

Bald headed vultures and sly-eyed ravens seeking meals for the exact same reasons.

Some feathered umber and others feathered white,
Some feathered for silence be it daylight or night. 

V

There are souls in this world
Who have thick coats of armor;
Scales, tails and quicklime, coats for the weather,
Some tend to slither, others they crawl, some are sure footed, others not at all.

Whatever protection, toxin or venom
They forever carry with them, biting or bitten.

Those that are stung are wary and careful, 
While those that are stinging are careless and blissful.

VI

In this world there are souls
Of every type, kind and color

And somehow they manage to live alongside one another -
The careless, the careful, the terrible and scared,

Those that are watchful
And others unaware. 


finis