They were hunted down, taken, and sent asunder.
When unwanted was there placed ignominy.
Long had their presence, their aura, their existence
disgusted me.
An abhorrence, a detestation were both to them a moniker.
would go unheard, unregistered in my ears and soul.
I would never need them, I would say, they will fulfill no
goal.
Ever silent, ever patient, they stood unitary.
or commissioned individually along with a feast,
they tried to win my favour without cease.
They followed me to the ends of the earth, attesting their
devoir.
they saved me: this man.
I was betrayed by one from our clan.
Lo, I could consider him one in our line.
By them, notoriety and honour were bestowed on my people.
Yet adored and savoured, these sub-earth dwellers are deceitful.
Bathed in the riches of oils, they hasten your death march.
The latter of tricks on me they often inveigle.
Afar, I had imbibed too much of their crystal clear fettle.
When tongue and soul thirst, they entered my body.
I trusted them to make me less phlegmatic.
Instead, they threatened my stomach to become erratic.
Direly, I needed help; urgently, I needed restitution.
was the same one I had rejected for so long.
Innocently laid upon a bland quilt of white, our paths had
crossed anon.
It cast no judgments on me, as I had done for such
lastingness.
Delusion and disease forced me to accept their charity
No apology issued, their aid I needed urgently.
Their zest of life saved me from destruction.
until I had seen them again presenting their service
without menace.
They saw me and casted not a single glance of sourness.
A quarter of a century later, their worth revealed to me
right away.
they accepted a submissive apology of mine
while stewing in their domes of vinegar and brine -
"Yes, please,” I say with a grin, “and with extra
pickles."
