his feet
covered in the bands
of leather
callused and walking free
among the legions

this was daddy's war
this was mother's ignorance

he allowed himself
insinuated
in the grace of goodness
from a tyranny of elders
he allowed himself
to walk free
among white pillar
secrets

daddy severed
the heir of possession
mother served her purpose
well

one empire
beheaded
in a single blow

all this preparation
for the little boy
to walk along the sea
in his tattered sandals

triumphant
and galavanting
on the heads of
soldiers
and servants
and innocent enemies

cast from the bridge
of one man's sanity

daddy never knew his son
could love no one else
mother never knew her son
could embody all that was
within his mind

legions
of pale white horses
trapped in marble stables
ivory cages
and jeweled collars

passions
of deformity
as daddy appears
and mother rears
her son proper

still in those tattered sandals
the little boy trembles as
a man
bleeding on the stairs
of an empire