In the Next Life, Canto III, stanzas 108-113

He’d surface in a murky little lake,
dammed at the compound wall a ways downstream.
He’d wade along the wall for safety’s sake.
To stay unnoticed kept within his theme.

He usually performed this when the sun
was in the south, behind the creek’s ravine.
With only stars for light, it should be done
with little chance of Ciral’s being seen.

Unless the men were still away, of course,
in which case he’d be greeted by his peers,
who would be free to use whatever force
was needed to intensify his fears.

Now at this point our story can diverge—
we don’t know how long he’d been in the can—
but I believe I must resist the urge
to keep the skin intact on our young man.

I wish that we could take another train.
I hurt with him; this guy is like my son.
I feel indignance, helplessness, and pain
as they humiliate him, one by one.

The line that leads to safety for the boy
goes to a place where all will stay the same.
To make our tale, he must want to destroy.
He first must pass through ridicule and shame.

Surface: Apparently there was no room to insert something like “Upon his return…”, or maybe he wanted to avoid repeating a phrase he had used a few stanzas back.

©2010 Louis A. Merrimac