this phantom span

loss impales once more
but though dagger remove
the void advance

there is urgency
for stay
but it is done
the world vacates 
and the drop plummets
down its hurtling descent

would thy intercede 
for a fool
recused by right
writhed in wrong
but how can you beseech
the dead
they will not rise

I am thy slayer
seed of Cain
I shall
no more repose
though banished to grave 
and dangle upon this
spectral thread

a pendulum creaking
in the wind 
regarded not
the known unknown
invariably denied

I would loose this bond
that garrote
with its assuring grip
but no sooner do I break
than I commence to slaughter
renewed
 
my recidivist impulse
condemning me to evermore
return and serve the sway
of this phantom span

oh would that I learn to slip
this noose that with its 
taught snap, suspends
oblivion

Written by Scott Schoffstall
© March 11, 2012
all rights reserved
http://www.poeticsojourn.com/the-sojourner.html