The Darkened Sky

The Darkened Sky The darkened sky levels with the ground Letting the angels forth, forward they bound On wings that glide on silent sighs Engulfing the tired, upward to rise Feathers beat away your tears Smoothing away the roughage of fears Together they flew in glorious formation Shining eyes locked in fierce concentration Their goal is simple, their goal is complete To cull those who have finished their feat I watch through the darkness, glowing they rained Although some where joyous, others dismayed The angels were beauty and beauty alone More perfect a picture you could not have shown Some were in panic running for cover Some welcomed the angels, who stopped at a hover They smiled in the light and rolled in its warmth As the angels took them in to their towering form The ones that had hid were left in the cold And eventually cracked like the dried out mold I watched in confusion as one by one they past Soaring so high and so very fast I stared into their faces and found only blindness I reached out with a hand and felt only vagueness They started to change, morph and shift And soon resemble an angel like the rain to the mist By then only half the population was left And those who were ignorant, blind and deaf The angel’s eyes darkened in colour And they soon started to move away from each other They chased down the survivors with no grace or mercy How could one commit such terrible heresy? Their teeth became sharp and their skin prickly No longer the smooth, pale glance of purity They gnawed at the faces and tore at the clothes Giving no heeding to the poor victims woes My tears were of horror my screams were of pain For how could something so hidden be but so suddenly plain? I stood there still rooted in place No way could I win such an impossible race A monster was through and it turned its head And from its cold look I knew I was dead I remembered its beauty and wondered how it could be That I ever thought they were coming for me I knew it now, as it drifted toward me on wings once soft Now brittle as blades kept straight and aloft No beating of feathers, no sweet smelling breeze Only the callous eyes and claws of tight squeeze They caught me now in a grip I have only felt In nightmares as deep as the ocean it self I fell into darkness dense and ungiving And now the world is done with all of its living No more clouds that tease our imagination No more flowers that smell of a summer vacation All gone was the laughter, the smiles and tears All that was left were those monsters of our fears Though now I realize they were always there Hidden in the shadows, but kept alive and aware If you could call them alive you could call them but hate Vile and sinful, retched with rank They live on this earth but to cause sorrow and pain But there is hope in the angel that can not be slain This angel is many and its many have come He drives away them who bring sadness and glum Although he is strong and comes to aid soon Neither can the dark ones be put in their tomb They feast on the people who refuse to see The shine of the one who could have saved me I saw it too late and look where I am In the belly of a monster, I died at his hand And here I will stay, eternity and hence But heed my warning for it comes only once Be careful of your loyalties and watch for the eyes That darken tonight, so you too, can rise. By Erica Hudnall