Rejoicing in their exalted station
Are ten thousand times ten thousand gods
Perfected, endless and heavenly.
After some days of contemplation,
The eldest among them, face hardening, nods.
His announcement, “We’ve been here long enough, haven’t we?”
Is met by shuffling feet and doubtful eyes.
Behind the bar, robe dipped in blood,
One by one he sets them free
From life in the skies.
*
The group dispersed, and for a long time the man sat still.
Suddenly, recommitting, he stood and strode into the night,
Chair left askew, candle still burning.
He reached the foot of a hill
And peered past the round stone door at the sheets, still white
Despite the body that in them had been returning
To its earthen home.
He stepped inside
And smiled wanly—what a shame, all that wasted learning—
Then lay down, then became unrisen, then unknown.
*
Her husband smiled grimly, and she set her jaw.
Life was assailing them, but they weren’t ones to shrink;
Their high priest was of good to come, so they loved growth.
The next day, her face red and raw,
His head in his hands, they were empty and weak. They knew by some instinct
The rest of their life was a long, wretched road,
A pointless endeavor.
A ghost of a thought nagged at her mind, but she could not think
It. He felt some piece was missing, but he could not know
It had disappeared forever.
*
He awoke before the first light of dawn.
Eyes opening, wife at his side,
His mind searched for what had stirred him.
“The sword!” He choked on his yawn
And turned toward the sound of his wife’s voice, eyes wide.
Together they peered toward the place they had first been.
There was no flickering glow in the distance.
Stumbling, wondering, they raced to find
The clearing, where they would soon burst in
And meet no cherubic resistance.