"I hear the pawsteps of the elders near!"
"Your ears are more attuned than mine, but yet
I do not trust your judgment to be clear."
The dew beneath his paws was cool and wet
Sly passing by the final home's rosette
Which marked the grave of martyrs lost to thought
And cried to Khazemil that he was caught
"The land lies fallow, fire is no cure!"
"You know the storehouse stands a step beyond —
Our action must be swift, complete, and sure."
"Destroy the village food and then abscond,
To hide ourselves and starve out past the pond?"
"This time is best, the harvest taken in;
Enough for them to live. If not now, when?"
Resigned to watch as Merrasir began
And making sure his paws were holding still
The fox saw blood cascading in the plan
Saw petals of a lonesome daffodil
He clamped his jaw, the torch rose — "Khazemil!"
Behind, his father racing, scythe aloft
Warm light before him, crackling and soft
Much larger, sharper set, his father came
"The dog betrays us! Move or die, my son!"
Khazemil, smiling, let him pass the flame
Rokhem burned in his heart; he watched them run
The spirits rose, his world whirled and spun
A dream? A dream? A tremor through the ground
The sky asunder, ink vermilion-crowned
Obsidian and blood so far away
A muttered rolling voice above his head
The waterfalls, the eyes, a new decay
"You've fallen, Khazemil, as you were led
My temple here was buried with the dead.
Your lineage is short, deluded, young;
Corrupted by the grain to which you clung."
The mask was growing larger, moving back
Khazemil felt this though he saw it not
The voice waxed vengeful, echoing in black
"Though pleased by fire consuming sinful rot,
I sense the price is higher than you sought.
The fetters of your mind are dust to me,
How then, ascend to live again, and free?"
"The dog betrays us! Son, your eyes! Those eyes!"
Khazemil, smiling, stepped into the path
His fathers scythe against dark spirits' rise
A moment shattered, severed, welling wrath
A moment's desolation, aftermath
As Merrasir swept down to catch the fox
Infernal heat engulfing rokhem stalks
❦