The lady in the black veil

The lady watches

The lady in the black veil

There is a woman at the edge of town,
Which town? you ask,
All that were, that are and ever will be,
She is the lady in the black veil.

She wears the black of mourning,
Who is she mourning? you ask,
Well all of us of course,
Her skin is pallid and pale.

She was waiting in the wings for us,
And hers will be the last act,
Who is she? you ask,
Well isn’t that the question…

She watches us dance and fumble and leap,
She watches with derision or joy,
The former when we agree to disagree,
And the latter when we bring others to her embrace.
She is the only justice,
Hers is the truest meaning of all,
While we look for it in religion and greed,
Her cackling laughter fills the mortal halls.

Do not fear if her visage eludes you,
She is the last companion of us all,
And in the last journey she will ask you,
She will ask you ever so soft.

Yet the word will strike you as a thunderclap,
The word will shake you to the core…

‘why’
Why do we
Why do we hurt
Why do we kill
Why do we indulge in the perversity of war?
Why do we strangle sympathy?
We fight over what is right or wrong
Not caring for what they truly mean…
I like to hope,
I truly do,
That she knows the answer to the question,
And she likes to revel in our ignorance.

At least I’d like to hope so

She is death,
She is the final abode,
Do not fear if her visage eludes you,
She is the only justice,
She watches us dance and fumble and leap,
She was waiting in the wings for us,
She wears the black of mourning,
She is the lady in the black veil,
And she has a question for us all.
*----------------------------------------*

Author's Note

feel free to be critical

Reviews

[Christian]

This is amazing. I really like the twist you did with Death asking the questions instead of ourselves. That threw me for a loop. Can't wait to read more.

[John the Baptist]

I have never before seen the Grim Reaper portrayed as a woman. Had some difficulty adjusting to it until the stanza that begins with "why." Only a woman could nag like that, so everything fell into place.