BLACK BANNER II

unfurling black flags Where moon's light fear falls A whisper of graveyard dust In breeze’s, thin cold as sin.    A pearl of frozen blight reflects  The still pond beyond the edge Shadows bleed in night As ravens pluck razor wire.  Quills scratch glass, cold A story of moths, a tarnishing of  gold  Silk shroud, waves in winds Of lost souls, eyes of angels.  Phantom heartbeats, infinite  The willow's long branches Stagnant mire, of sighs, & funeral pyre  The lilies drift, stains of midnight. And teeth mark the flesh Pale and blue, black flags fly Hourglass, time itself The echo of mortal dread.  The clockwork figures  Gears grind & weep A secret slumber dark & deep Of twisted trees, eyes of portraits. Portals to the finite winds In steeple's haunted  Unfurling black flags, in swallowing light.