The Princess

Part of a Meditation upon Death

An Epilogue to "The Master"

We left our twenty companions, 

In misery on the cold forest floor, 

They longed to be with their families, 

As they paused at the gate to Death's door. 

A voice spoke aloud, from a darkening cloud,
About the plight they were in.
Kindly it fumbled, to all who were humbled,
And it called up all their past sins.

"A note on desire, it may pleasure you Sires

That you gave up the lives of a King.

There's no point in wishing, for a past life of fishing,

When you most wanted to go 'Viking.

"Whatever you wished, howsoever you failed, 

History moored broadside to you all. 

The story's not how Fish became Mystery

Rather the tale's how Fish became Whale.

"A life unobserved, is impossibly served,

By forces beyond our control.

The Corsairs of Destiny, lured Pirates to the best in Thee,

That forever board your good Soul.

"A quiet life now, seems the life of a Crow,

A Presage of dark things to Come.

What lives amidst calm, like the Lord in his Psalm,

Is the Devil that's beating your Drum.

"We might only relate, to the notions of Fate,

That gave us our marching orders.

How we forfeit our chips, matters not a whit,

Since Death is at yours and my border.

"Is this just History, or an elaborate Mystery?

That spelled out your particular Fate?

'Tis not only Death, that dwells in our Breath

That we drew inside of Life's crate.

"All's good that does die, that includes you and I,

Thoughts and deeds done whilst we are Living,

It would give us some cause, and considerable pause,

If you re-wrote this story by forgiving.

"You need a bright light, to set your hearts right,

To cast your minds calm and clear.

To bleed for past deeds, is an unfathomable creed,

That won't reduce or clean out your Fear.

"A life that's cut short seems impossibly bored,

Who lost the tail that was missed?

No fixed length of time, for a hill that was climbed,

Or for the Gods that you kissed.

"Take off your flowers, pass them around,

You're excused at last from this party.

You must all know, that it's starting to snow,

The train to Hell is departing.

"Leave your host now, think not a regret,

Give thanks to the food that you ate.

The wings that bear life are as sharp as the knife,

That waits at the edge of your plate.

Make your excuses, forgive past abuses,

Delay only prolongs the ache.

For while others are complaining, you could be detraining,

And moving along towards your Fate.

"Those that that I guide, past these gates deep and wide,

Descend with two states of mind.

One is at home, with the eternal sound ohm,

The other is tortured inside.

"The first have regrets, of empires not met,

Obligations that won't give them peace.

Others have mastered past desires with love,

All their machinations have ceased.

"The lesson on Earth, to be learned from your birth,

Is being prepared to depart.

It's impossible to know, when you'll be taken below,

Thus living upstairs is an Art.

"A pain that just sits, like a love that is missed,
Leaves a gap that can never be filled.
The end of one life, won't kill any drive,
So another incarnation is built.

"You may become wise, or you may remain fools,

You may even bear lies, but that won't change the Rule -

My master makes no distinction at all.

He'll carry you down, where in his black Gown,
He'll bury you after your Fall."

Shrooms

If insomnia's your serantonin,
You surely need what mushrooms are growin'.
Under the moon let's pop some 'shrooms,
And get our fungal energies reflowin'!