Red Skies (Poetry)

I went out on a summer’s night
to hear the stars above
singing in their ancient tongues
forgotten hymns to Love

Words floated down in drifts like snow
or feathers shed in flight
and I was drowned in that soft flood
my body sank from sight

In spirit then I understood
what followed acts of war
how good men died and fever raged
then famine killed far more

Till Earth was left a barren place
its regions burned to black
the sky in mourning for the sun
since God had turned His back

I saw the lesson carved in rock
I coughed the poisoned air
disaster loomed in every book
the signs were everywhere

Dawn found me in a poppy field
the shepherd’s warning clear
all men should listen to the stars
Time’s chariot draws near