Oostkerk in October

Broken wing and cowering beside the ancient door
While hollow echoes oscillate the empty chime within
Concrete eyes of living death unable to explore
The mystery that lies between intention and begin

Once young now in between the thread of life and mystery
Of hands that held the fire’s tongue now singed and cooled apart
The bell between chimes hollow still into an empty sea
Of lifeless space, abandoned halls, the chambers of the heart

The shade within, the black beneath is comfort from the light
Of life and scars and broken vows escorted through the noise
Of busy days with concrete eyes unable to ignite
A heated beat of pulsing veins and all hedonic joys

A scentless world of stone and shade and unacknowledged wrongs
Of lust unlived and songs unsung for hollow vows to keep
For sterile haunts of hallowed halls and abstinence prolonged
Safety from unveiling bright where naked hungers steep

          And now it comes, the door unlatched of final mystery
          What if? Her taste unknown escapes in final injury

Broken Wall

it took such effort of will
to pull down this wall to
meet you where you were
to elevate my affections
to equal yours

and now I stand beside the
broken wall and carry these
heavy affections that you
once shared, only to find
that I follow you in the cold
and at a distance

A. G. Elrod is a Lecturer of English in The Netherlands university system and a PhD candidate in the Digital Humanities.