Solitary Quest

Solitary Quest


Heavy the weight upon him
Steep the winding track
Long the weary wanderer must keep from looking back

Fear sucks against the marrow
Through mud and mire and mist
The heavy, dragging burden of the Solitary Quest

?'Til there on the horizon
A dead tree and a crow
With grey skies beating down on him and the raging sea below

The solitary soldier
With coldness in his breast
The heavy, dragging burden of the Solitary Quest

Above the rocks he settles
To decide upon his plight
The search for his salvation - or a slow dive into white

And fear can suck him under
Or death can set him free
"But the Quest is never over" says the black bird in the tree

'Til the lonely day is dying
And the sun sinks into red
A ball of bloody fire like the bullet in his head

And fear can suck him under
Or the truth can set him free
But before he can confess it - the bird has flown the tree

And so the path retaken
The murderous, bloody climb
Wet clay beneath to taunt him and a heart that must deny…

Love, that heals the marrow
And takes a soldier to his rest
From the heavy, dragging burden of the Solitary Quest


Dec 2004

Thanks for taking time to read this (if you have).
It's old-fashioned, embarrassingly (obviously) written in a drunk stupor and I cringe to reveal it, but this poem (if it is a poem) comes from a dark place and wants out.
Feel free to laugh, ignore or crit. Honest comments please.


Peace,
E