He stands poised
At the cusp of
The curtain of light
At the edge
Of the world

Commander
Of Forces of Nature
Challenger
Of the Spirit
The Emperor
Of All Change

The gaping maw
At the boundary
Where the world ends
Echoes soundlessly
Yet thunders with resonant
Calls from the Void
And questions
Unanswered
In the search
For the Riddle
Of Clouds

Air suspended in place
Unmoved by will
Currents still
Atmosphere suffocating
Heavy & asphyxiating
Soul-crushing, life-eradicating
Feelings that only
Winds of change can replace

The winds of change
The breath of life
A gift from
The Emperor
A reflection of
Heaven so far away
Given a place
To flourish
In this realm
Forgotten by the gods
We have forgotten
We are

Pieces of the
Skeleton of Earth
Colliding plates
Scrape and grind
Churn and crack
& The Emperor
Standing at the edge
So far above
The endless flat
Of the desert horizon
So far below
That collision of plates
A tectonic communion
Between patchwork layers
Playing host to life…

The Emperor,
The Challenger,
Of this Illusion
And not of this Illusion,
At home,
In this Illusion,
Yet at the same time
Very far from.