Eulogy for the Boy King

When the Boy King stood

on his Judgment Day

before a jury packed

with those he had lost

or, rather,

those who had died for him,

he choked on his tongue.

"Forgive me, Father,

for I have sinned."

The silence screamed

and the air grew thick.

The King thought

of the poison

that once pulsed

through his veins

like acid.

He thought of how

he had yielded to power

and to temptation.

He thought of how

he could not wash

away his guilt,

how he could not wash

his hands of the bloodshed

and destruction he had caused.

Then, a voice:

"Be at peace, my child.

You've bore your crown

of thorns bravely.

But the Boy King protested.

He pleaded for one day more.

He asked this in the names

of all the people

he could have saved

if he had one more day.

He asked this in the name

of his brother.

He asked of his grief

that Earthly words

could not articulate.

"Give me one day more

to save him."

The voice again spoke:

"You've done enough.

You've saved enough."

Had he? And if so,

and it was his time

to release his grip

on the world,

he thought

he should go

to the fires

and face his old foe.

for after all,

he was always the boy

with the demon blood-

an abomination

even from the tongues

of his friends.

No one ever told him otherwise.

He was frayed around the edges,

ragged fibers full

of patches and holes.

he was a lover

raised as a fighter,

held together

with duct tape

and safety pins.

"Sleep now, my child."

So he stepped down

from his martyr's block

and for the first time

in his short, tumultuous life,

there was no more sacrifice

and no more pain.

The circle was finally broken.