The Borealis

I tranced the opelescent shore Which harbors seas trom Evermore,
I left footprints in the foam: A trackless path to Halidome.
A floating voice from soothing sea Soon brought me to a glimmering quay,
where  I then found what I had lost ~ Above endeavor, beyond all cost:
Beloved voices, moonlight pale, Whispering as though through a veil.

I knew them! Friends from yesteryere; What called us all unto this pier?
They spoke of baptism and birth, Of Eden and the soiled Earth,
Of promise and a bloody tryst Kept by one they called "The Christ";
That from the void a trumpet ring Would bridging resurrection bring.

Perhaps my ears, perhaps my heart Then heard or gave a blasting start.
For astride Death's dark and beating wings A pure and sacred siren sings
A song of noon and cirrus' dance More keen than point of fletched lance:
A beacon through a roiled storm Without fixture, lacking form -
A line so true that rainbows kneel To trace the route of hallowed keel.

And swift she came, a ship so high Tho stars stretched with an azure sigh,
A vessel true of crafted light That clove the jetted vault of night.
Her gossamer sails billowed blessed By downy winds of northernest.
From stem to stern She beemed with love And at her prow a diamond dove,
Her lamp formed like an argent chalice, Her name in gold: "The Borealis".

With splendid splash, She kissed the sea And docked before us at the quay.
Those willing met Her ramp to climb The threshold through the walls of time.
I joined the queue, when two eyes turned And in their glance my hopes were spurned.
The eyes into a face were born. Then limbs and locks from air were shorn.
He stood before me, wan and thin, The remnants of my brother twin.

Yet changed he was, both deep and new, A remedial vision earned by few.
Our fates were in his careful hands, An hourglass with living sands.
Though he was older, I came first; I felt his truth and feared the worst:
I was to stay and he to leave - For me a life to slowly grieve
The loss of one to never lose ... That Path not ours but mine to choose.
Our futures made, our dooms decreed, He spoke and then our souls were freed;

"You were not meant to journey here, Though in your heart the call rang clear.
So while you've come, unbidden seen Beyond the Earth's Protecting screen,
Return you shall to be reborn And share your sight of Evermorn.
Be strong, be happy and be kind, For just by receiving will you Find
The peace through pain and Earthly woe Which we are destined once to know."

Then he kissed mg cheeks and brow And leaped unto Her crystal bow,
And laughing, raised his hand and cried, "To truly live, you must first have died!"
And lifted on the voice of Dawn, Her compass set for Everon,
They silvered past as cheers they gave Until the furthest, final wave.
So they departed, while I remained, My face with teardrops bitter—stained.
The only shadows there, which fell Toiling as a buoyed bell.

Alone as none should ever be - Moro humble than that starlit sea -
There then arose a gentle swell To cleanse away my mournful knell,
And I awoke to Onlyhere: The edgeless rim of Evernear.
Again to love, to laugh, to sigh, Learn through life what it means to die
So that we gain a state grace And light the yearning void oi space;
To share the seed and use the chaff, Laugh through our tears and crying, laugh
Transtorm the thorn into a Flower And thus approach that distant hour
When we shall know our final birth And endow Heaven the best of Earth.

So I toil to wear the mask Of one who still believes the task
Of life is to attain success And govern those who're given less -
By having all there is to gain I'll never have to feel pain,
And nothing nears that highest life where others bear the grief and strife.
I meanwhile strive to tendor teach That healing light within our reach,
And pray by giving through my pain You'll mend your wounds and hearts unstain.
Then, dreaming fresh, you'll willing be To blend our deeds in harmony
And, like a choir, we'll earthly bring The shining songs of Everspring.

For in all our dreams there beats the call
Of the tidal songs from Everall.

- Tom Randolph
  May 1991