The Sentinel

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