In a Castle Yonder

In a castle yonder~
Even a king must stop to ponder.
For steely fingers and pale delight~
will come for him one dark night.
Whether man, insect, or bird~
It is I who'll have the last word.
You cannot run and cannot hide.
You cannot turn the changing tide.
I'm always there stalking you~
as every sunset is mocking you.
No matter where you are~
I am never very far.
No matter where you go~
in lands of sun or lands of snow~
in the mountains or at sea~
you can never escape me.
I measure your every breath.
Waiting for you, the Mistress of Death.

© Copyright 2009. Heather Bahnmaier All Rights Reserved.

NOTE: I was asked what inspired this so I thought I'd share. I was inspired by a picture that I cannot post here due to copyright issues. All I can tell you is that I wrote this a month after nearly dying due to a perforation in my intestines. The picture was dark and bleak. It was of a dark haired woman in a long black flowing dress standing next to an old tombstone. She was holding an antique gun in her hand looking out across stormy seas to an old run down castle on the opposite shore. It was clearly on her mind to get across the water to the castle in order to use the gun. The dark tone of the picture coupled with the recent near death experience resulted in this poem.

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