DEATH POEM

I.
         Today she came at the break of Dawn; unlike other days when she came at Dusk.

Little did they realize what this drastic change meant?
So early in the morn - that She was sent.
The windows, still open from the night before,
Were visual signs the inhabitants of this strange land
Enjoyed the fragrant night breezes.
Peaceful, quiet, serene, even bland.
On they slept, confident that today would be grand.
They could have known, they should have known -
But NO,
Self Gratification had become Full Blown!

         Today she came at the break of Dawn; unlike other days when she came at Dusk.

Her understanding of these people had come from countless Nights
Of undisturbed and distant observations of Flights.
Too distant to hear the words being spoken - if any.
For eons of nights
She watched the sights,
Their actions and traits, not wanting to venture close;
She knew the ending,
She knew with each passing hour and day -
All would be gone, nothing left pending.
Soon they would All kneel and Pray!

         Today she came at the break of Dawn; unlike other days when she came at Dusk.

Her abnormal action wasn't even noticed;
Centuries ago the meaning of her coming had been forgotten.
Complacent with the false knowledge of her eternal presence,
They never even watched the slight nuances of her aerial ballet,
They never noticed the changes, truly awesome at times, in the patterns of the day.
Unlike their predecessors,
These people disregarded the most important of indicators,
The absolute by which everything should have been measured and planned.
Would be Executed Today on this very Sand.

         Today she came at the break of Dawn; unlike other days when she came at Dusk.

The first rays of light glistened off the surf as it quietly died
On the ivory sands of this desolate patch of humanity fair.
She needed only but to rise and glide
on the changing currents of the heated air.

Soon some would rise to greet the luscious morning sun,
only to discover that today would be unlike all others in which she had come.

First to be noticed would be the strange luminous hues of red
orange that seemed to splash across the horizon and bled.

II.
         Today she came at the break of Dawn; Never to experience Another.

First to be Noticed - the hues of the sky,
Second - the increasing size of the Sun on high.

She soared too high to see the looks on the faces below,
Or hear the questions, they pondered too slow.

Fear and panic was about to burst,
But the people were starting to mass.
The water would grow warmer, slowly at first,
But they cared not to swim.
Or even quench their thirst.

They sat at the shores and watched the sky's panoramic display
Beauty whose bounds seemed unlimited Today.

         Today she came at the break of Dawn; Never to experience Another.

The path of her flight seemed random at first sight
To those who now gazed,
Was this Her first flight?
Would the forests be razed?

The primeval ones knew what this forbade.
As the Sun loomed larger, never to fade.
The gentle breezes warmed,
The winged guardian, ancient manuscripts of Gloom,
Archaic with age and laden with knowledge,
Had no way to convey her message of impending Doom-
Save for her presence at Last,

They could have known, They should have known
If only they had learned from the past!

         Today she came at the break of Dawn; Never to experience Another.

Now the Sun shown above the distant horizon,full of scorn,
Larger than ever before, and still growing.
The gentle fragrant breezes of the early morn
Were now replaced by gale winds on the Forlorn.
Panic was imminent - Fear could be seen in all of their eyes.
What did it mean? - How would it end? -
Who Lives, Who Dies?

Again, their attention was diverted from her flight
And back to Her incessant beckoning.
Survival appeared to be the only thought on this night,
The very Last Day of Reckoning.

III.
         Today she came at the break of Dawn - to see the End of Mankind.

They cowered and hid at the sound of her Cry -
There was no doubt now - They Would All Die.

                   "Too Late" "Too Late"
Was the Sound of her Cry.

They could have learned, They should have learned
But No, This was their Fate.

The cries grew louder, the sounds more fierce;
Ear splitting, mind shattering, When would this cease?
Nothing to do but lie and wait and pray for some peace?

This couldn't be Chance, It had to be Fate.

         Today she came at the break of Dawn - to see the End of Mankind.

Withered and Bent, Scorched and Spent,
Everything would go!
No-one could last,
Such an intense heat blast.

The sky had turned white,
Never changing Her flight,
On She would go,
To see life flow
Out from this world.

Night to day and day to night
This too, would be Her Last Flight

They could have mended their ways
Even in their very last days
and been Saved.

This was not to be,
For surely She could see
What was not yet dying -


WAS DEAD

Tag:

J.B. LeBuert  4-29-83 and rev. Jan. '11