Barking Dogs

The woods induce a sudden panic
No man-made cliffs titanic
Above the concrete trails the lunatic
Is running from--no brick
Enclosure, home or building could contain
The rose that blooms from pain--
No thorny thicket could contain the ruddy rose
That bursts in beauty but one bard
Could dare deliver, rhythms hanging hard--
The north wind blows
The virgin from the concrete cliff
Into a different riff--
Horse beats are heard--their children cry
In whinnies which the wind gives wings--a wry
Response from cynics whose lame barks
Scare only larks
Already learning these are lies that lie within a cage
Declares the current mangy age
Of stagnant health that's death's true dream
Where passed-out drunks all seem
As kings within the carnival--mere fools
Elected as the true king's tools,
The scapegoats, satyrs at the end of play
Who end their day
As butterflies upon the wind
Who fly into the afterlife for all who sinned.