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THE SENTINEL
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS

					

I took the elevator to the lobby of the small hotel
I’d been here six days the ennui was starting to tell
I’d been sent to cover an international gathering
Sessions so long and dull my mind took a battering
My last night in Buenos Aires and boy was I bored
I decided to take a stroll and view the unexplored


As I reached the street the wind brought me a tune
It was a chant that came and then faded too soon
I waited silently each time for the song to appear
The waffling of the wind made it difficult to hear
Pursuing the sound the surroundings are squally
I soon ventured into a narrow and dimly lit alley


At the end of the alley I could see another lane
And a lamplighter igniting the gay nineties flame
In spite of his efforts the lane remained quite dim
The area lacked color my premonitions were grim
A nauseous aroma of honeysuckle filled the air
A miasmic aroma riding the wind  a queasy affair


The chant could be heard at the whim of the wind
I felt befuddled and uneasy as tho I had sinned
I stood there motionless I don’t know how long
Wishing and listening for a repeat of the song
It was an eerie vista hushed and no one in sight
Suddenly I caught a movement far to the right


In the shadow of a doorway I see a flower girl
And as I approach her the wind starts to swirl
She’s selling flowers in this dimness and gloom
The eerie silence  an echo straight from a tomb
I’ve an ominous feeling a chill deep to the bone
In fear I’m drawn to her, by no choice of my own



The Sentinel (2)



She raises her hand   beckons come close to me
I know if I respond to her call I’ll never be free
I’m a moth that cant resist the lure of the flame
I’m reluctant to answer  powerless to declaim   
She’s been  waiting here for such a long spell
Her only task  to put a blue flower in my lapel


I bent down so she could pin on the blue flower
Her hair had the odor of ozone  after a shower
Said “you’re not the person that I had expected
Your intrusion has now cast you to be selected
You’re an interloper and not part of the cast
With a role that will leave you without a past


You will stand guard at the gateway of entry
Fulfilling your role as a subservient  sentry”
A gust  caused my hat to fly away several feet
As I  retrieved it darkness engulfed the street
To my surprise the flower girl had  retreated
The event was over yet its not been completed


Back at the hotel I felt apprehension and doom 
Muted voices and whispers were filling the room
I again heard the chant that beguiled me before
Quietly discordant then an overwhelming  roar
I don’t remember much more of that  eerie night
I just packed my bags for a early morning flight


I checked out at the lobby so glad to be alive
A calendar over the desk read   October 31 1925
A message awaited  when I stepped off the plane
A new position has opened and I have been named
Be at 666 Styx lane at six  this eve, come alone
This next assignment will be in your new  home





The Sentinel (3)


You have transcended into an others’ affair
Therefore his onerous mission you must bear
You will direct the recent to their final path
Gathering  rewards or facing endless wrath
I knew not the language but got what it said
I will point out the path for the recently dead


Facing the non-existing as they enter inside
Most wailing  their entrance to heaven denied
On a stool with a conical hat  I sit each night
Directing the lifeless to the left to the right
I stand at the gateway to heaven and to hell
I have been appointed an underworld sentinel


The person that I replaced where is he now?
Could he be at my home completing my vow?
How long must I endure this mistaken shame 
Even the lifeless can leave but I must remain
Hence some eerie night when you hear a tune
Defer don’t find it intriguing, deem it jejune


It has long been said curiosity killed the cat
You may find yourself  wearing a conical hat
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