The City Dark by Danil Rudoy

I

The City Dark, a lonesome feeling
Erupting slowly from within.
The sky, high cousin to a ceiling,
Begins its sinister routine.
The scarlet sun was cut and swallowed
By the skyscrapers’ toothy edge.
The gloom was first to come; what followed
Can neither hindered be, nor hedged.

The waves of people, foaming prior
To dusk, become sporadic drops.
The claxons’ roar, the motors’ choir:
All racket gradually stops.
Fog slithers in and, with its beard,
Enshrouds the vessels in the yard;
The last of drunks has disappeared;
All doors are closed, and locked, and barred.

The moon was clear as half a crescent
Three nights ago, but now it’s gone;
The stars are rendered evanescent
By ashen clouds in spirals drawn;
The shadows’ shades can grow no deeper;
And, having quenched the final spark,
At last, emerges, like the Reaper,
The proper prince: the City Dark.

II

The City Dark, a valid reason
To stay awake throughout the night,
Attempting to escape the prison
Erected by the speed of light.
It overpowers you, so dim it!
Its heart is nothing but a flask
That’s full of pity for the timid
Who never sailed beyond the dusk.

You know the lore: to have succeeded,
You ought to labor and agree
That, when your toil becomes unneeded,
The bell will toll and set you free.
And so, in chains of intuition,
We live and wash away, like sand;
We judge and hang by superstition;
We’d rather die than understand.

Belief is strictly biologic:
Light is the deadliest of traps,
But it creates a cozy logic
Which serves us well until it snaps.
And then we flicker like a sliver
Hewn off a burning piece of bark.
But who’s to catch us and deliver
Beyond, if not the City Dark?

III

The City Dark, it is hypnotic,
It is around you and inside:
A subtle dream, a sweet narcotic,
It gladly takes you on a ride
As you inhale the quiet air
Imbued with sin and moist with mist.
Keep breathing freely, but beware
Of what may come if you persist.

Behold the wicked, empty planet
Shrunk to a labyrinth of streets!
Crashed by the weight of glass and granite,
Your self-importance now depletes.
You see your sham, grotesque demeanor
And wish you had the nerve to laugh:
“Too bad…”, “too soon…”, “that grass is greener…”
It’s never “perfect” or “enough”.

Down with remorse! It makes you sticky,
It mars your honest, silky touch.
The search for freedom’s not a quickie:
We all must suffer, but how much?
It took you many wasted chances
To swim in wisdom like a shark.
But what propels you and enhances
The depth of thought? The City Dark.

IV

The City Dark, a seeming respite
From pains that plague throughout the day:
It quickly turns into a despot
To which your consciousness is prey.
Some say, of treason unaware,
That darkness turns a prophet blind;
But who would cast another stare
At all the dust I left behind?

I flew away until the border
Between the city and the stars
Above revealed a higher order.
By then, my heart was full of scars,
And every memory was sour,
And every prophecy was vain.
Augmented sharply by the hour,
Time reached the end and has been slain.

The reigning anarchy of chaos
Composed of useless human sins
Arrived. You hear it, Amadeus?
This is the side that always wins.
Its verdict’s harsh: no recognition,
Nor place for you on Noah’s ark
Because your one and only mission
Is to delight the City Dark.

V

The City Dark, a ruthless challenge,
Awaits the ashes of the brave
While they exploit themselves and scavenge
The stripe of truth before their grave.
But don’t you anguish or despair!
Accept your fate’s immodest tasks:
Be they concrete, or made of air,
All that you ever saw was masks.

You’re wearing one as well. Its features,
Carved in the present by the past,
Remind of way too many creatures
To classify your kind at last.
The look is always an impostor,
So let the inner take the reins
And drive the wicked roller-coaster
Of fortune while it still remains.

You feel it? Finally! The shackles
Let go of remnants of yourself.
The deal is made, the spirit sparkles
Without a trace of former stealth.
To quit? Too late. By now it’s in you:
You’re disallowed to disembark
And bound to ceaselessly continue
You voyage through the City Dark.