
The Masked Archer – Romaine Brooks
Illusional words slice through time and space
As a sharpened arrow might
Pointed dagger at the ready to penetrate
or, hoping to get lost along the journey?
–
With intent or target concealed in prose
Suspicion incites assumptions
Doth the protagonist plan foul play
or, is thee a hero of fables?
–
Allegorical motives pursue to embolden heart
Uncertain, as there’s only one cloaked player
I say –
Speak now or forever hold your tongue
There’s no peace in your silence.
–
The near and far continue to ask…
“How does one talk to strangers?”
The responses stolen by some passionate,
passive familiarities of understanding
Phantom answers to inquiries from the shadows.
–
I am grateful for all of the storytellers.
–
“How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!”