Risen from a Dark Night

What could have comprised 

The ash, from whence 

the Phoenix

Would make 

Its meteoric ascent?

 First necessary

To drain the swamp

And unburden

It's wings

To prepare for flight

Long did it linger

In the primordial ooze

Of a psyche 

Tainted by

A judas kiss delivered

To a soul 

Then left to languish 

Resurrection

Dependent on a willingness

To face the labyrinth

Of a timeless darkened night

Decaying dreams

Rotting betrayals

The putrid stench

Of self-hatred

The reek of betrayal

And the cavernous abyss

Of denied grief

The bright light of Love

Required 

For both

Visibility 

And to transmute 

What is found.

Previously unknown

Strengths

Honed and tempered

Through the dark of night

Will prove 

Instrumental

For the dawning

Of "the rise.."

It is not until 

Faced in it's entirety

That the contents of the swamp

Completely transformed 

And assimilated

Are now tinder dry

The continued intensity 

Of Love's energy

Brings about 

A magnificent combustion

From a divine alchemy

A new life 

Risen 

From the ash 

That

Of the complete destruction 

And all that remains

Of the previous

Life

R. O'Neill (August 15, 2017)