Death/Love

I read somewhere that a poem cannot be about more than one thing and that it must have just a single central theme. Daft idea. That challenge was accepted and I wrote this, which can be read for both 'Death' and 'Love':

Sometimes I wear a cloak of satin and velvet

Sometimes I maybe naked, with a bow and arrow

But sometimes I wear a cloak darker than the night

I am known to this little child, yet I am to him the biggest mystery

To this old man here, I have brought pain and joy throughout his history

I am celebrated; as celebrated as anything could be

And yet at nights I cry, I weep

For as celebrated as I may be, I get blamed

I get blamed for when two young souls see trust in each other’s eyes

When the clouds get dark and one of them dies

For all the times when there’s betrayal 

It’s me who gets soaked in their tears, when they cry

It’s me who takes the blame, it is I

And so I weep

For I'm feared

Feared more than war is

Forbidden, I'm a young man’s worst nightmares

And a maiden’s curse

One healing hand and other full of daggers

I cut infinite names of my victims on stone walls of sorrow

While the other hand paints beautiful faces I borrow

 For as long as there is the wind, for as long runs time

I run through; crazed; silent, as speechless as a mime

Touching thousands I come across, more subjects to my crime

Running, sweating, shouting and screaming

The horrific sights of smiling faces; gleaming

Black birds follow, and I know what horrors for their future they’re scheming

I'm out of breath for everything’s real, I'm not dreaming

But then I stop

Time is up

And I stop

I can’t go on

Maybe I should just stop, end this

I can’t take it any more; and I know a thousand more that can’t

A thousand more victims that rage and rant

But I wish I could stop, But I can’t

For as long as there is the wind, for as long runs time

Because I know that someone right now is walking out the door and across the street

Because I know that someone is unaware of what fate on the next turn one might meet

And so I’ll move

I’ll keep on moving

Sometimes I wear a cloak of satin and velvet

Sometimes I maybe naked, with a bow and arrow

But tonight goes to all those who despise me; 

Tonight I wear a cloak of white

Also available on my collaboration blog