A Coin for Charon

At the river’s edge,

I sought you out,

Charon.

Once a myth,

I found you true

In the deathly mist.

I was ready

To pay the toll,

To ride your ferry

Away from this purgatory.

But alas, my obolus

I had left behind.

I searched for a coin,

But neither silver nor gold

Did I find.

My soul, in anguish,

It wished to be free.

I pleaded that you have

Mercy on me.

Your eyes were coal,

They scorched my mind

Until in a blinded haze,

The answer I saw.

My heart.

I offered it now,

And you took it,

With your withered hands,

As it burned with

Innocent blood,

And passion

It wept onto

The dock as I left.

My tears flowed with the river

As you rowed me away,

For I knew,

Once on the other side,

You would not stay.