Tribute to a long gone Hero

TRIBUTE TO A LONG GONE HERO


I watch in tears, a few feet away
At the mound, the memento of gone love
The sacrage, the silent in demise
Warrior of the past, the gallant but fallen
Loneliness weights unbearably on you
I ask myself, did you deserve this father?

Even the dry sombre grass ignores you
Heavy gusts of winds howl hither and thither
Deluges soak into you-forces of nature, the routine
Ant fillers tingle you, borers sniff nonchalantly at you
The forest is now your home, your recluse
Nights come and go, you hang on
Owls hoot in the middle of the nights, you seem comfortable
Did you deserve this, father?

Why did your history flee from you, father?
Why did the past betray your humility and love?
There, at the base of a lonely hill, as you lie.
The tortuous path coming to your home is long since dead
Your descendants have dispersed from their stronghold,
What used to be your love-your village.

Where now is the armour you used to proudly don?
Where really are the praises, your concubines used to tirelessly ululate
As you came from far off lands, from the plunder?
Has your pride been in haste, in tatters?
O-oh father, you left us in shame, hanging precariously
For you left us in the middle of a life giving sentence
That we will never discern, a hidden formula.

I dare not prevent the tears that down my parched cheeks flow
For they are like a river in flood, taking all
Washing away the tightening of the heart, the ire
The remains of a mental massacre, the carnage
The dry wind from the village blows softly across my face
Never drying them, but urging them on
You will ever be a pillar of hope, a monolith

I feel great pain as I walk away from your resting place
The pain of not taking you home, to the comfort of your harem
To the hearty laughter and merriment of that village
Dry, dead leaves rustle shrilly below my feet, complaining
I gaze back, thinking I heard you cough, whisper
But a ghast of wind blows across your grave, teasing you
To believe you are there, hidden below the mound, I will keep on
Rest in peace, father of warriors.