I didn’t use either yesterday’s or today’s prompts. It was mostly due to time. In the words of the Doctor from “Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Dearth,” “I’ll explain later.” Regardless, here are my poems for yesterday and today. Enjoy!

Day 23:
A Dirge for Elektra
By Nathan Marchand

Her name is Elektra,
A warrioress clad in red,
A veteran of many journeys,
And I saw her die today.
Crushed between two soccer moms
Because one was distracted.
Reliable though she was, Elektra
Was declared too broken to mend,
And too old to save.

She lays unburied amongst the dead,
A lifeless husk to be scavenged by vultures,
Forgotten by all except the one
Who journeyed with her most.
He’d revive her if given the chance…
If only give the chance.
Death came before her time.
Now he must move on, but her
Memory will always be with him.

Day 24:
Wasteland
By Nathan Marchand

I am lost in the desert,
The unending wilderness,
The most barren wasteland.
I see an oasis, my refuge,
But fear it’s a mirage,
So I walk on, my mouth parched.

I see the promised land,
My long-awaited destination,
But a minefield is before me.
Voices whisper in the stinging wind.
Some urge caution
And some reckless abandon.

I’ve seen others killed by mines—
I myself have their shrapnel
Imbedded in my body.
Another will kill me,
But the promised land beckons.
I don’t want to die in the wilderness.

It’s the only life I know,
Yet I desire far more.
I can receive more if I will but take it.
But I fear the minefield
That has wounded me so often.
I am at an impasse—what shall I do?

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