Poem: Amidst the Deepening Shadows, a Cry
Make haste You're late. The sun has set And the darkness is deepening. The cry that you hear, That you keep hearing, is more distant now And you're beset with Thickets and bushes that grasp At your limbs and clothes, Slowing your every step. Break into a run now If your aching limbs, your burning lungs, Allow it. Because each yard Will seem like a mile After nightfall Each step Will sap your courage. The night is deepening. Fields and forests and rocky outcrops Are now shadows that menace The mind. What do you see? Beware, it is a lie. Each step is a stumbling block. What seems like soft grass Will shred your feet like glass. Yet make haste. You're late. The cry that you heard, that you kept hearing, is but a silence now. Search now in panic. But where? Grope in the dark bushes... but for what? Ah, but you've walked too many miles, Traveller, To hold a cold, lifeless hand And know what you've known all along: You're late.