The Awakened

By: Alma Posted on: July 20, 2007

Though written from a very personal point of view, the following is a tale that
is very common amongst Achaeans everywhere.

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I.

I gasp for air as I awake,
As though from a dream,
My soul is revived,
My body; redeemed.

My surroundings are familiar,
But not the same;
A shadow of what was,
But has now been changed.

I stand on Shallam Road
By Eastern Row
The whitewashed houses
Stand brightly aglow

II.

Passersby from Fish Street
Turn and look me
Some faces show pity,
Others; mockery.

I look down at myself
And realization dawns,
I am standing naked,
My clothing--gone!

I reach for a pack
That is no longer there,
I search for my gold
But find only air.

O, Cruel Time!
You cunning Thief!
I sink down into a corner
Overcome with grief.

III.

"Levana! Levana!"
I call out for my friend
My guardian angel,
Sworn protector to the end.

For a brief moment
I fear I've lost her too,
I lower my head
With sadness imbued.

A gentle touch caresses
My shoulder and back,
I look up; my eyes adjust
To the bright face smiling back.

Glittering warm light
Dances across my face
As my dear friend
Hands me my spiritual mace.

IV.

My divine advocate
Glowing at my side,
I stand up and
Swallow my pride.

Time to start fresh,
Time to begin anew,
I grip my mace tightly
Knowing what to do.

My body has aged,
The years have passed me by,
My mind is foggy
And my old bones painfully sigh.

It's back to the basics,
And that is that,
I turn to the subdivision
To find some rats.

V.

Starve to death naked
Or be a humble ratter,
I had no choice but to
Choose the latter.

I smote street vermin
Until my arms were weak,
I ratted until I heard the echo
In my dreams of rats' squeak.

Then, covered in blood and sweat,
I set off in a daze
For the Medina and it's
Market Maze.

It is there that I come
Face to Face
With a familiar man
In a familiar place.

VI.

Ashamedly I step forward
And greet Crazy Hakhim,
He didn't say a word,
Ignoring me it seemed.

I cleared my throat
And he turned around
I blushed and showed him
The rats I'd found.

I stood awkwardly
Attempting to cover my shame
"Don't worry about it"
Hakhim gruffly exclaimed.

He handed me my gold
And once again spoke
"I tend to get a lot of
Poor naked folk."

VII.

I gratefully took the gold
And ran to the nearest shop
Bought simple clothes
And a mutton chop.

My mind was racing,
But was finally clear
This is still the Sapience
I held so dear.

I'm ready to begin
My Life Anew
My body is ready
And my soul's Renewed!