Release

By: Ahmet Posted on: July 31, 2016

The world we know is not the truth.
Their broken words like sweet vermouth,
The silver tongues of leadership
Deceive the youth, conceal the whip.

I lie awake, disturbed, one night
Contemplating how to fight,
How to end their love affair
With the false, the bias, the unfair.

I lie awake, distracted by
Each and every twisted lie.
I see their minds, eager and bright.
I hear the words that snuff their light.

I lie awake and wonder why
The ideals spread by those on high
Always seem to keep them there,
Despite their method, tempt or scare.

A call to action, Good and bright.
The knowledge found in the Dark of night.
Tend and protect, Nature's law.
A nihilistic coup de grâce.

Come, they said, the Truths are clear.
Walk the path to true Strength here.
Serpent, crow, the two as one.
In time, the blade you will become.

I've heard it all, they all ring true,
Distorting truth known by so few.
For whom you fight it matters not.
Likewise for all these things you've bought.

The merchant hangs his weary head.
The lord fights tears in his silken bed.
The queen broken, just a facade.
The happy traveller, a sight so odd.

His smile, an island in this stoic sea.
So many faces, yet he smiles at me.
A light in the distance, marking the shore,
The smile of a man who has won this war.

Caught staring, I duck into the inn.
Take a seat at the bar and I see him again.
He sits down beside me and shoots me a wink,
Hails the bartender and orders two drinks.

A story he tells, a story for me,
But the bartender's back, quick as can be.
He drops two mugs and slides me one,
Then moves on down the line, his business done.

The man continues, I listen and nod
As I learn the reason for his smile so odd.
The hours grow long, into the wee night
As he describes every pleasure and fright.

He smiles, then sighs, begins a farewell.
"Let me go with you, I know the road well."
He laughs and he tells me his road is his own.
"I'd love to, but some roads must be walked alone."

When will I see you again, where can we meet?
A village afar? Perhaps this very street?
He smiled, but his welling eyes told all.
He turned away from me, stared through the wall.

"When you've seen all this world has to show you, you'll know.
Down this road I now travel you'll go.
I wish I could stay, but the road calls to me.
Remember my story. Go out and be free."

I nod, silent, but by then he's gone.
The sun fills the room despite curtains drawn.
That was the last time I saw his face.
Though I visit him often, here in this place.

I took it to heart, I travelled the world,
My steed at full gallop, my sails unfurled.
I find new companions as I go along,
But each finds their own way, for right or for wrong.

I learn what I can and I do as I please,
Coming and going with each fickle breeze.
I live and I love, but I treat every day
As training for that which is coming my way.

Here in this place, this pile of stones,
I feel ever-weary. I ache in my bones.
I've yet to follow, despite all my trials.
I've many more years. So many more miles.

I turn back to you as the tears fall free,
You know I will leave you when He calls to me.
For these many years, I'm yours and you're mine,
For you I have love, but for Him I pine.

So I'll live out my years and I'll travel my miles.
I'll learn what I can and spread my share of smiles,
All the while preparing, until my last breath
For the grandest and final adventure: Death.