quill (phoenix)

Awake from a dream
Where Rome was burning;
Its forlorn supremacy
All smoke and mirrors
And Babylon had fallen;
The gardens of Eden
Doused in lusciousness

Slowly shake out my feathers
All scrambled, in tethers
Rinse off the wretched muck
Until they shine again; until
Each has come unstuck

There’s one that stands out
From the crowd, it radiates
With the power of true beauty;
Feeling the pain of separation
Becomes a sacred duty
As with all my might
I pluck it from my side

Held with infinite tenderness
I embrace the thrill
Of witnessing its transformation
Into a golden quill

Your name is carved into its bone
The end is sharp and ready;
It's pleading to write
With none left to hide
Of all that sits on eternity’s throne
Declaring: I am ready

A scroll descends from heaven
Then lands upon my lap;
For all my protests
All my strings
For all my mishaps
All other precious things
I know there’s no
Further place to go
Surrendered,
I unfold my wings

And watch the ink
Immortalise
What ought to come
As no surprise:

“My dear,

The greed of your need
And poison of your fear
Have sent him miles
Away from here

Slay your misery
With the liberty
Of knowing that
A lesson learnt
Counts for more
Than an empire burnt

Embrace the holy
Correction that is
Offered from above,
And all that’s left
To live, to life
Is your eternal love”

Thus called upon to rise
From the ashes of my ties
I spread my wings
With endless gratitude
For all that is now understood

And take off
To burn the sky
Where I will live
And I will die
Engraving it
With the only
Words of now:

Ik hou van jou