The Silent Court

The Silent Court

What is this place of laze-abouts,

Where silently they lay all day?

They do not work, they do not shout,

They do not care to even play.

They seem content to lie around,

And stir not once, nor make a sound.

They rest in silence, here and there,

While seasons fade and leaves grow bare.

How do they keep this perfect peace,

This quiet sleep that does not cease?

I ponder on their heavy dreams,

And mysteries of hidden schemes.

The strangest thing of all to see,

Are little creatures crawling free.

They wiggle, squeeze, and wind about,

And softly creep both in and out.

And you would think I only jest,

But swear to this—they don’t protest.

Some look as if they fell asleep,

While others guard a secret deep.

But here I must observe my charge,

And serve my duty to this call.

Still I will watch, and still they lay,

Beneath the shadows of the wall.

Still me, still us, still tightly bound,

Does forward time move without sound?

Or is the march of passing years,

A fiction born of mortal fears?

I see the sun set, moon arise,

The cycle spinning in the skies.

Still I remain, their lonely lord,

Amongst my silent, frozen horde.

Still I will watch; I steel my mind,

Lest dark insanity should blind.

I watch, and watch, and watch again,

Until I break this heavy chain.

I woke to dark I could not break,

A sudden weight upon my chest.

I tried to scream, "I am awake!"

But not a single muscle pressed.

The crawling creatures brought me word,

Of how my vital breath had fled,

And whispered secrets I had heard,

Before I joined this frozen bed.

Then through the dark your shadow fell,

The living ruler of our space.

I felt the tolling of your bell,

The heavy sorrow on your face.

You guard our court, yet walk alone,

While kings must fall and walls decay;

I yield my panic to the stone,

And join your silent court to stay.