Death's Ballad

Featuring a missing boy

we’ll be right back!

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when i was young i feared nightfall
the darkness taking hold
a scythe from mist in my white eyes
soon reaping what i’ve sown

it was until we strode on sand
stepping on cracked shells
i’d never shaken hands with Death
or seen where spirits dwell

the little boy was soft and spry
until the flashlight search
across the shore he floated towards
the ruins of a church

his family says the stars can speak
and that they spell his name
a cop was cold and told his wife
that kid drowned in the waves

on that beach sometimes i think
i’ve surely seen their son
each driftwood arm and seaweed hair
reminds the search is done

a couple weeks from now he might
come floating back to shore
the world will spin forgetfully
with knocking on his door

but underneath his lichen skin
and shadow-ridden eyes
i wonder if he tried to catch
the light he left behind