Once More Deaths Pale Kiss Poem by Paul Brookes

bright string lights sway,
bling swing, wing cyclical
the number of days peel hollow.
horizon flirting truths,
tarot faces undecided, fate is a serious thing.

a fortunate stroking of serendipity
kings, queens, presidents, tyrants,
all arranged round Death
the ultimate ruler
purveying sack clothed shrouded destinies,
he cannot sell his wares but all must buy
its written in the small print at birth.

Empires dematerialise
upsurged bubbles pop.
Death is the beginning and the end.
the ultimate adjudicator
flight of motion, rictus faced.
and all that is left is decay
defleshed grinning skulls
and the last echoing laughter of the Muse.