Taker or bearer,
The tantalizing image of hazy mirth,
Poisonous, venomous with impurity,
Plague of Man upon Man,
The Scourge, the Killer,
Blackened Rot of body and soul,
Messenger to the ferryman,
Leaving too soon.

Each subtle horizontal line
is slain by the great arsonist,
Martyrs falling one by one, lain
breath to breath and length to
length, they mark themselves as
a barrier to man’s folly and
Plague of Man upon Man,
The Scourge, the Killer.

Entered for the MAG Poetry Prize 2010