As Ever Like the Sun & Moon at War

2- ☾

Pariah draws his knife and stands above

the sleeping Spouse who lies upon her roll

and holds it high, preparing for the plunge

before he hesitates upon a glance

at how the moon doth not endorse this act,

denying light to brighten silver blade

with cleansing judgment used to cast the dark

of human evil from this Earthly plane.

He lowers th'weapon with uncertainty

and questions how it is he could be wrong;                 10

did not this Spouse deny his counterpart

her services? At least til pris'ners then

conven'd inside the tavern, whereat she

was then convinc'd to show him decency?

And certainly she did, but still it should

not take an army's word to sway but one

opinion, hence the reason in his mind

for sentencing her death upon his blade.

But Luna seems to disagree with this,

and so he's forc'd to reconsider his                20

assessment of the woman at his feet

to realign his moral code with hers.

He slips his knife into his belt and goes

to stroll along the road to sort his thoughts:

"This Spouse who follows us began a foe,

but now is friend and I consider why;

the story that my counterpart did share

offended her and sounded like a lie,

and so she made to cast him out because

she thought him evil rather than because                    30

of hatred that we've witness'd times before

that lets me judge another's character

to be ignoble, which it seems that I

am not as good at seeing as I thought.

Twill take a greater effort on my part

than first consider'd when I was releas'd,

assuming that my vision would be true;

perhaps it was before that Torturer

remov'd from me a half of Father's light

with which communion with the silver moon               40

was easier than now, for something's chang'd

inside of me which can't I target quite.

These devils that I hunt to purge the Earth

of evil are contagious in a way,

and now there manifests within mine heart

a seething hatred which is new to me

for I—as long as I've maintain'd control

at night—have not encounter'd anger like

this animosity that taints my soul;

this taste of bitterness for evil's stain               50

upon the land, this fetid sour stench

that fills my nostrils with its putrid fumes

which must have been produc'd by fire's burn

that I've applied removing them from Earth.

It would appear I do require now

a remedy to cure this malady

that I've contracted during this crusade,

which still is far from over, for this scourge

inhabits lands abroad as well as here

toward which counterpart doth march at day,             60

along which I will have to cast my swift

objective judgment, which I'll have to cleanse

in preparation. But how can I take

my tainted moral code and shine it bright

once more? I'll need a stream of water clear

that's running place-to-place in which to wash

the sinful taint off from my burden'd soul

in currents clean and cold, or else I fear

I'll fall to evil's touch upon mine heart,

and then I will become what I'm accus'd                70

already by the Barman on that night

and also one before him when we left

our home—a murderer, which as of yet

I'm not, for only do I kill the bad.

But Luna's shown to me upon this night

how close I tread to evil by her light."

With this Pariah pedals back toward

the camp where he awoke to this control

tonight, and there he crawls into his roll

to fall asleep whilst all the while he                80

doth not and shall not know that at his side

the Spouse hath been awake all night as well—

for guilt upon her heart at living whilst

her Husband, perish'd, weighs her mind awake—

and so she witness'd earlier this night

the knife her hero drew to end her life

and—burden'd by her conscience—didn't stir

that he might take the plunge, uniting her

with him again; but as it did occur

he spar'd her life, so now she only waits                90

for night to pass and hopefully for sleep

which probably unfortunately will

ensnare her in a dream of Husband's face

upon the cobblestone, a bloody red;

and maybe with enough of time to pass

she'll find a happiness in paradise,

but likely—if tonight's indicative

of what her hero thinks of company

she doth provide to him along the road—

she'll meet a dreamless sleep before too long.               100