I awaken from the depths of my slumber.
Pitiful and scorned, in a world lonely and torn.
My eyes peel open, hit by the blinding lights,
Of grey ash and embers of a dying fire.
Dark skin of mine caked in grey and white.
This ash a plague on my mortal soul.
It fell all around my tired form
Like the sheets of a white shroud.
Rags I’d foraged the day before
Clung to the dirt and grime on my skin.
Choking me like the scent of fire and smoke,
Like memories of Winter’s War.
The creeping chill the wind carried in its silent song
Finds a home in the burrow of my bones
Traveling up my spine like a cold serpent.
The demon of Misfortune smiles wide from below.
I leave my throne room, a damp cardboard box
Discarding my old home, I venture in search of another
The skies were hoary, the Way obscured
Orion’s mighty arrow points me toward dark woods
“This is it, the place of my final rest, the Last Bed”
I shuffle through the soft white expanse ahead.
Head and heart frozen by a polar kiss,
Death’s tendrils nipped at my tired wet ankles.
The redwoods grew into the bleak winter skies
Their great branches like arms that guided me to my New Kingdom
The first flakes of snow sailed along windy currents
Landing on the ashy shores of my bare shoulders
My teeth chattered in my little mouth
Unable to withstand the torment of the North
Where was I to go if not to my Death?
There is no home from whence I came.
Orphaned and alone, in the midst of war
Ash and fire, old friend and foe.
Tears trickled down the curve of my cheek
Pooling above Cupid’s Bow.
My tears brought a most welcome warmth
Dark meanders mark their path.
Soon, my eyes found a clearing in the woods
A ring of trees christened my throne,
A singular redwood grew tall and strong
At the heart of the forest. My throne, a decaying stump,
Adorned in green moss and soft wisps of fern.
My heart ached at Nature’s kindness as I tread forth.
“Thank you, Mother, for this Last Bed.
I am sorry for the tears I have shed.
Too young for war, my family bled.
Now I lay alone, on my Death Bed.”
I prayed with a fervor that relieved
the sweet ache that takes over.
My veins sang in anticipation of relief
As my blood roared in my ears.
The forest retired into the cold tranquility
Of the snow that rained down on me,
Like the warm woolen blanket
My mother swaddled me in as a baby.
The winds sang their saccharine lullaby as
My mother tucked me in with fresh snow.
She kissed my nose with a gust of wind and learned to let me go.
Time stood still for so long, I forgot how old I am.
I awaken from the depths of my slumber.
My skin warm and my stomach full.
I rise from my Death Bed in a place unknown,
Candlelight shone on the recesses of a gilded room.
A fire burned at the hearth, casting a golden glow
Over all of my belongings in the bedroom.
Where am I? I wondered in awe.
Who am I? I mumbled under my frantic breath.
A sharp knock on the oak door bounced off the stone walls
Snapped me out of my reverie, my eyes now clear as glass.
A woman entered, her white gown trailing behind.
Her eyes were an ethereal hue, a frosty blue.
Frosted eyes met mine as she held my lips in a honeyed kiss.
Without a word, I was pulled out of bed and dressed,
Vibrant cloth wrapped around me in a snug fit.
I was led through winding halls into an Aerial Garden, high in an alpine abode.
Around me, I see chaparrals of redolent gardenias,
Heaps of wisteria hanging from their laden branches.
Feisty vines of glacial roses climbed the trellis,
dusting the land with its iridescent pollen.
Pear trees heavy with their nectarous bulbs bowed low,
tempting me to taste the delectable fruit,
to imagine the way it coats my tongue
and leads my senses askew.
I turn to face my companion fair,
With frosted eyes and silver hair.
Her radiant smile did light a fire,
Most deep within, one of desire.
I realized that this was all mine
That I was the King of my Castle
Sole protector of the land of ice and fire,
of snow and rain, of diamonds and wine.
I quickly discerned that it mattered not how I came to be
In this strange place with its glass fruit and sentient leaves.
I was standing on Hallowed Earth
for this was Earth no more.
Once upon a time, when I was sickly and dark
Of straggly hair, leaving ashen foot marks.
I’d dreamed of a Land of crystals and gold,
Where I could eat aplenty and had someone to hold.
If that is where I am, Mother, please don’t wake me up
Do not awaken me from my slumber deep.
For I wish to live my life with a maiden fair
Ruling the lands of my kingdom come.