wearing tears of scarlet
on a grand ostentatious stage
always running from your eyes
cuts bleed light into a growing soul
a marathon runaway in Dante's burning hell
but no less a devil for that

enraptured by this beautiful sadness
surrounded by speechless whispers
and translucent alabaster forms
staring at portraits of our memories
memories of nightmares
               deprived of life

but some may live to die again
find a new eternity following a mechanical mariner
refuse to give in
              keep the dream alive
the stage is set

fall back into darkness
     pulled by loathsome false shackles
just another letdown from an angel of mercy
pass the message on and throw it in the devil's teeth
the truth is always upsetting when you choose to live a lie

take one last flight
resigned to the hands of an automaton
let go and succumb to this brief sojourn

always a marathon runaway
running along quicksand
trailing embers to burn into your soul
only hearing the sound of a tongue caught in a barbwire snare
cutting through ivy-clad bastions of mediocrity
acquire the intangible

the dim light from this flickering candle
drowns in the endless streams of conscious thought
stalking nightmares to their feast of lust
             some kind of elegance
                          in a plumbed hedonist

look to the wind
with star-struck eyes
as a marathon runaway