As Ever Like the Sun & Moon at War

1- ☾☾ ☾☾

Our Pilgrim's taken down a corridor

that's lin'd with cages fill'd with people whom—

with sores, disease and rot upon their teeth

which he can see as they are wailing loud

for freedom from these cells in which they're trapp'd—

he only can assume are victims same

as he, abducted by these criminals.

An empty cell is open'd wherein he

is shov'd and lock'd within with metal clangs;

he grasps the bars and begs to be releas'd,                           10

but these are simply laid on deafen'd ears,

and so he falls upon his bed of straw

and weeps until a sleep enraptures him.

Now here Pariah opens up their eyes,

examining the cage in which they're trapp'd;

four walls of brick and cobble floor beneath

with dirt betwixt the stones from which there crawl

black insects searching round the cage for food,

most certainly awaiting pris'ners' sleep

to bite at flesh that's unprotected then.                              20

The sound of footsteps echoing throughout

the hallway draws his observation t'ward

the front of his small cage where then appears

the Leader of the band that captur'd him,

and with him is another rounder man

who looks to be more kept for the indoors.

"This specimen, my Warden, made us chase,"

explains the Leader to the shorter man,

"and even kill'd a number of my men,

at night, including my Lieutenant who                        30

put up a fight, it seem'd, when we observ'd

the scene before deciding to pursue

this thief, who fled upon mine own equine

when camp awoke and spook'd him with th'alarm."

The Warden places hand upon his chin

and leans a little closer to the bars,

examining Pariah cold with eyes

that squint behind the glass of spectacles,

and to the Leader he replies with this:

"I see this product is a danger, then,                       40

to customer and prison guards alike;

but worry not for we have taken in

figs rotten in the past and train'd them so

that they are not a threat to anyone.

However, since this grooming is a strain

when such a product of this danger's brought