Hero

Hero

The soft white sand passes through his fingers
A beach nestled upon a crystal blue sea
The tropical breeze tosses his fair hair
and the sun embraces his golden skin
Everything is perfect
and for a moment you think
you are reading a travel magazine

Until he moves
turning his chiseled body
toward the scar
There
sinking into the sea-soaked sand
lies a fallen vessel consumed by flames
and you realize
their paradise is his nightmare

They are the children
thoughtless and naive
Laughing
they deposit their woes and fears
onto this fair, golden boy
Ralph

While they are full of fruit
he is full of turmoil
While they are full of meat
he is full of anger

Slowly
the children shift their gaze
from their flawless leader to a ferocious rebel
From golden Ralph to crimson Jack
the conch fades from view
as the pig killer takes the throne

Ralph is a lone wolf
They chose him as the alpha
He leads the pack because they wanted him

Why him?
Piggy is the smart one
but Ralph dares not admit it
for this bumbling, blind, breathless boy
cannot compare to him
Can he?

Even with his doubts
his rages 
his knotted hair 
and sandpaper clothes
Ralph is their hero
They think nothing of the distant ship
but the fire remains fierce 
and the smoke will be their savior

Ralph will always be their hero
the conch bearer
To Ralph
all that glitters is not gold
Yet 
to the littluns
all that's gold is Ralph

Fire and Bone

Fire and Bone

The pale boy hides himself

beneath a cloak of night

With lifeless skin and shallow eyes 

where he goes

death will follow

The littluns gather with ferocious energy

at the sound of his name

Jack

The one who walks on air

The silent seeker of flesh

Blade clasped in his gaunt fingers

he comes to life

A predator surfaces from deep within its frail cage

In a tangle of coarse green he stalks the soft pink pig

He can almost taste it

Something has taken control of Jack

An undying, carnivorous greed

The fire and Ralph and the conch 

they do not matter

Jack stains his ghostly face with black and red 

His gaze hardens

"I am the hunter

I am the master of blade and blood

I will claim meat and flesh

I will hunt

I will kill

We will devour"

Ralph wields the conch

but Jack is fierce

Ralph may be golden

But Jack is

fire and bone