Reaching man’s estate

so many tears in the moat

broken ladders and shattered armor

a flag flutters high above

the escarpments

a phoenix struggles out of the

ashes

below in the yellow fields

friends are approaching slowly

walking back home

great stained faces

tattered clothes

their bodies carry

relief and

a mixture of defeat and victory

Standing in the open gateway

between the two worlds

the royal fur cast off

naked to the cosmos

a great cheer goes up

resounding across the hills

a flock of doves

take to the sky