THE CITY OF BURDEN
AND OF THE BURDENED
A VISITOR.
You are snapped out of sleep
To sudden proximity
The brazier has gone dark
There is a bitter cold in the air
In the moonlight you see the silhouette
Of your Keeper
Sitting in your chair
In silence
She has never come inside your chamber
And you are unnerved
With her hand
She makes a repetitive motion
As your eyes adjust
You recognize it as penitent prayer
A gesture of piousness
The Keeper doesn’t know you are awake
You dare not speak
Her mask is askew
Revealing her lips
Twitching
She takes a long pull from a bottle
You hear its empty dredges slosh weakly
And slowly she moves toward you
You feign sleep
Closing your eyes
Your heart exploding into your throat
Swelling so powerfully
You’re afraid she can hear
You can feel her gaze
Smell her breath
The sickly sweet of sherris sack
Then door closes quietly
And she is gone
You are confused
Too tired to understand
Gratefully