*Companion Piece to “Familiar Blue”

Firewalker

Breathe in
Breathe out
My thoughts fill with doubt

The tormented conscience
The whispering fear
Scored by the fire
I still feel its sear

Breathe in
Breathe out
Pain still burns throughout

Flashes of brothers
Of all those held dear
Burn like the river
That skinned me last year

Breathe in
Breathe out
I am now the drought

The emptiness in
This gleaming black suit
Voice and expression
Forever now mute

Breathe in
Breathe out
Was this the best route?

Was I too rash?
Or rather, was he?
That young boy no longer
Feels a part of me

Breathe in
Breathe out
These steel legs are stout

They hurt where they stab
Into severed stumps
But now when I walk
Beneath the ground thumps

Breathe in
Breathe out
This mask gives me clout

I no longer see horror
Now I see dread
They cower in worship
Through these eyes of red

Breathe in
Breathe out
These weaklings I flout

None of them could have
Survived my baptism
I now stand apart
I am my own schism

Breathe in
Breathe out
To me they’ll devout

A symbol of warning
Of intolerance
The mere mention of
My name now prevents

Breathe in
Breathe out
I burn off the sprout

The memory of him
The one who betrayed
The one who forged me
With his own blade

Breathe in
Breathe out
My hatred will tout

I’ll find him one day
I’ll never relent
I’ll never forget
His distinctive scent

Breathe in
Breathe out
I burn off the doubt

That he’s dead already
He must have survived!
Of my revenge
I won’t be deprived

Breathe in
Breathe out
Breathe in
Breathe out