masked

I knew a bard once,

Who wore the antlers of a stag, fallen,

Attached to a cracked porcelain mask tight around his face.

He would breathe quietly, not like a wild beast

Though his songs always struck a chord.

Once, I returned from burning the pests; blackberries,

And behind me, stalking, was a stag.

Regarding the dusk, it snorted

But I didn't notice the pan flutes around his neck

Or the patterns of silk across his fur.

Dusk, in hindsight, is when he shifted,

The antlers of his mask merging with his ancient form;

The pride of protective nature.

I did not want to blink.

Hooves and a rich, thick coat, he did not waver in firefly territory,

Only snorted again in greeting.

I believed he wanted blackberries,

But I had burned them all.

So I gave him the daisy flower from my hair,

Which he nibbled, mannerless, like a muddy buffalo.

Slow and slapping, he did not register the taste of rich perfume;

It seems he was trying to uncover why I wouldn't halt the blaze of stained blackberries surrounding.

I turned to go - he was contented at the daisy flower's lasting flavour.

Never seeing him again makes me recall the look in his deep black eyes,

As if his next song would be about how the dusk made my braided hair glow,

And how disappointed he was to not have tasted still smoldering blackberries.

They are only pests until they are gone.

~

Vibe? Gothic, dark academia, Shakespeare, murder mystery, poetry.

Book: If We Were Villains - M.L Rio

Vibe? Eerie, Autumn, twisted, Grimm fairy tale, a smidge of witchcraft.

Book: House of Hollow - Krystal Sutherland

Happy reading!

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