Red Road

That particularly gray day,
When black Judas,
Unexpectedly dropped,
Spellbound to say,
To tell me,
About a river of fresh blood,
Running down,
Streaming like some prayer,
Storming along a new pathway,
Centered along the red road,
Just north,
Where the red,
Road sharply turned,
Taking a western scarlet curve,
Carving a sacred path,
Straight to my yellow hovel door,
Poor Judas,
Knocking three times,
First rapping,
Rather lightly,
When no body,
Come and see,
What matter,
Curious Judas,
Banging louder,
Still no damning answer,
Standing aloof listening,
My roof and porch glistening,
Opening his deaf right ear,
Quietly absorbed there,
For a thousand years,
As the wind whipped,
Lashing old memories,
Judas hung there,
Another hundred decades,
Feeling some thing,
An incorrigible mess,
Some thing terrible,
Historically amiss,
Perhaps a horrible test,
Sadducees may have,
Been and come again,
Stealth in the madness of the night,
Perhaps a ruckus,
Men searching for wealth,
It was rumoured,
Since that day,
Born a stable birth,
Those adored golden idols,
Amethyst amulets with pearl eyes,
Brazed into my sacred heart,
But we all know,
Rumours,
How they can be,
Sometimes they're just a pack,
Of silver tongued lies,
Words stacked and spoken,
Feeding packs of hungry wolves,
Searching for fresh meat,
No one knows for sure,
No one living,
Knew for certain,
Turning hearts into stone,
We all know,
Rumours,
Granitic and rigid can be,
Sometimes like gutted fish,
Assembled entrails,
Resembling butchered remains,
Of sheep and goats,
Spilled haphazardly,
Spewed recklessly,
Daringly across the Emperor's marble floor,
Prepared necromancers,
Scaling myth from metamorphic stone,
Handsomely made,
Sculpted sandstone ones,
Richly paid in rubies and jade,
Inspecting a slimy mess,
Picking through emerald bits,
Sticking to timely pieces,
Prancing on shining cloven hooves,
Narrating shimmering mythological slag,
Counting profound diamonds and stars,
Fastidious plastic smiles,
Plastered on haunted faces,
Such a rancid lot,
Faking glorious stories,
Recounting splendid lyrics,
Pacifying their rakish King,
Coveting all that dissolute perfume,
Hording silk and gold,
Ice reflected in their bloodshot eyes,
Magnificence standing in some great hall,
Pointing up to the stormy sky,
Reciting line,
After perverted line,
Ringing out,
Singing out,
Loud exhortations,
Supreme leader reclining,
Unblemished virgins born,
Slaves to the corrupt kingdom,
Peeling green grapes,
Slicing sweet peaches,
Carefully stripping soft skins,
Slipping juicy morsels,
Past the Emperor's curled,
Stiff conniving lips,
So stories often told,
Relating oily fish,
Rich savory recipes,
Served under a golden palace ceiling,
Court and Courtiers bowing beneath that plafond,
Courteously smiling,
Crippled with all their false smiles,
Corpulent snickering,
While their King's wide lips,
Snidely parting,
Oh proud and Imperial Emperor,
Reclining on his broad embroidered couch,
Resolutely farting,
Oh how the noble court loved,
Such a stinking royal smell,
Politely they sniggered,
Lord and Master,
Calling for more rich wine,
Sorcery befalling the King,
Dreams of divine tales imparted,
Impaled by venomous serpent fangs,
Installed by steaming bovine entrails,
Spinning chaff into golden threads,
Inviting a Majesty`s delight,
Delightfully continuing to suckle,
Reveling the rich taste of the Royal teat,
We all intuitively know,
How intrusive rumours start,
First whispered,
Almost placid,
In basic time,
Shortly down that reckless line,
Turning acid,
So back in that other lurch,
Blinking Judas stood,
Mystic on my fool porch,
Confused and wond'ring,
"Is something the matter",
Perhaps the Mad Hatter,
Had swung by again,
Perhaps I had truly gone,
Down the rabbit hole again,
Jealous Judas banged,
Harder on my alcove door,
"Lord",
Standing thinking,
"Lord",
Wond'ring is he even there,
Judas hung there,
Refracted by some perfect light,
Seemed like such a long retractable time,
Through wars and revolutions,
Dreaming so many nightmares,
Poor insatiable Judas waited,
Sorrowful but feeling sated,
After such a long time,
Hanging there alone,
Dangling he waited,
Enduring centuries,
Cured by the angry wind,
Thankfully dawn came again,
Morning sun was rising in the vibrant east,
Upanishads whispered restitution,
Kissing Judas' left ear,
"Judas, let yourself down friend",
"Turn yourself around three times",
"Let yourself in",
So my old friend Judas,
Strangled by his lasting thoughts,
Straightened his stretched neck,
Severing that twisted rope,
Which had tethered him,
Restrained to another sad spot,
Gathering his ghostly courage,
Banging hard against my outer door,
"Are you there?",
Judas shouted,
"The sun has blinded me",
"Lord",
"I'm not sure if you care",
"But pray",
"I've come to tell you",
"There is a river of blood",
"Running up to your hovel door",
Judas spoke in dulcet tones,
Thinking about that muddled zone,
"Perhaps he's gone back into the wilderness",
"Searching for some of his lost desert things",
Finally the feral sun had set,
Rising again three days later,
Judas slowly opened,
Cracked that battered creaking door,
Entering,
"Hello",
"Lord",
"Are you there",
Judas was want to say 'lord' a lot,
And 'lordy lordy',
And 'oh my lord',
Even exclaiming,
'Holy cow",
And 'Jesus H Christ',
When things struck him as odd,
As people often pointed,
Crooked fingers,
Disjointed at the like,
Speaking as if he were dead,
At dreaded times,
Cursing poor Judas,
When things weren't going their way,
Some unhappy reason,
When sharks flew,
Through open windows at night,
Slipping and swimming,
Past door posts painted red,
Splashed with fresh blood,
Gnashing sharp shark teeth,
Ripping out children's hearts,
Devouring camels and horses,
Ingesting faith and dogma,
They might crave,
Raving once or twice,
Throughout depraved history,
Those ravenous ruthless flying sharks,
Letting themselves into the Palace den,
Mercilessly devouring all the King's horses,
All the King's men,
But I'm going off,
On a streaming tangent,
Excuse me for my transgressions,
I'm sure even depreciated Humpty Dumpty,
Would appreciate me,
Getting it together again,
So while I'm pushing buttons,
I'll continue leading Dick and Jane,
Down the garden path,
Hopefully faithful Spot,
Still happily following,
Hairy tail wagging,
As I continue this contrite,
Recounting this nagging tale,
Back to poor Judas,
Entering my dark little cave,
That intrepid man stepped in,
Peering through the din,
Wondering what might pop up,
Stopping for a split second,
Contemplative Judas thought,
Perhaps he heard voices,
Was I speaking,
Wondering quietly,
Quieted by his traveling thoughts,
Unraveling words,
Like tangled prayers,
Nothing was stirring,
Not even a church mouse,
But once again,
There it was,
Some odd chorus,
Like a distant choir,
Or some chanting,
Judas wasn't quite sure,
Tentatively he advanced,
Just a cautious step,
Belied by his sepulchre trance,
"Lord are you there",
Entranced in that dark atmosphere,
Judas daring,
Opening wide his eyes,
Adjusting to that regal din,
Advancing there,
Stubbing his big Judas toe,
Banging it hard,
Clanging against an old pair of sticks,
Pieces of ruptured wood,
"Ouch",
"Damn",
Judas exclaimed,
Staring down at the crutched floor,
Those pieces of broken wood,
Laying there crossed by the door,
Partially blocking the Appian way,
"Lord are you there",
Judas called out again,
Words peeling back the mystic dark,
Vanquishing the esoteric din,
"Holy Moses",
Judas whispered under his capria breath,
"What in heaven's name",
Judas capitulating,
"What prophesy in here",
Light seemed to appear,
Impetuosity entering that darkened room,
"Jeez",
Judas blurted,
"What an odd smell",
Judas spoke to himself,
Which he often did,
Judas being alone in every way,
Dwelling forever in his dark personal hell,
Judas ventured forth,
One bold step,
Second adventurous step,
Third questing step,
Forward then briskly,
Risking one giant step,
Backward,
Clasping his right hand,
Crossing his gaping mouth,
Eyes wide open,
Judas stood gasping,
Staring blindly into that dark cave,
"Lord! Oh lord!",
Some shape,
Resembling a shrouded man,
Deathly still,
Prostrate on the bed,
Judas peered closer,
Daring one step closer still,
Light glowed,
Ringing that shrouded man's head,
Sweet perfume filled that electrified atmosphere,
Smoking frankincense and myrrh,
Judas recalling kosher fragrance,
All those self-possessed times in the temple,
Vested priests striding through billowing smoke,
Naming names,
Benedictions to God,
Prostrating themselves
Oh Holy of Holies,
Prayers that priests chant,
Invoking,
God Almighty,
God's glorious munificence,
Temple walls shook mightily,
Reverberating with those supreme refrains,
Something attained,
Something gained,
Judas wasn't quite sure,
Angels perhaps,
Yes!
Angels surely resolving,
Evolving Judas in revolution,
Turning to that restitutive exit,
Gladness filling his heart,
Judas had once existed,
Petitioning,
Judas deeply breathed,
Crossing a cavernous threshold again,
Another remarkable exodus,
Rare for simple man,
Another withdrawal,
Reversely taking leave,
Upholding going forth,
Another egress,
Another pardoned parting,
Another fond farewell,
Another ritual goodbye,
Another escapeway,
Another passage into daylight,
Following that red river of blood,
Still repeating prayers,
Along the yellow path,
His heart felt heavy,
Yet Judas knew,
Deep in his variegated soul,
Darkness diminished a little,
Judas recognized his Guardian Angel,
Trekking with him,
Telling him about heaven,
Reminding him to take heart,
Light sometimes joins the world,
Kindness and compassion sometimes prevails,
Opening the hearts of humankind,
Fragments of dear hope,
Keeping the world in tow,
Judas gathered his courage,
Settling his bewildered mind,
Leaving another message,
Knowing few honest places,
Where he might ever be welcome,
Time had charged him with indiscretion,
Epochs had not been kind to him,
Centuries of rumour had taken a toll,
If only truth be known,
Judas' jealousy had grown,
Love destroyed him,
As love often does,
So many abhorred him,
Even those that should show compassion,
Detesting his jealous misguided investment,
Seven deadly sins,
Even angels sometimes digress,
Yet poor Judas had wandered alone,
Day and night,
Night and day,
Eternally wondering,
Never knowing what he should say,
Yet a new message,
Reducing storms into clouds,
Thus a new dawn approached,
Two Marys prepared my body,
Washing away my encrusted human sins,
Wrapping me in clean white shrouds,
Knowing my soul would depart in three days,
Rising to another distant realm,
Fear taking people to advent places,
They would otherwise never go,
Love has torn us apart,
Not for the first time,
Love has been ripped to pieces,
Love has been carelessly tossed,
Into the ravenous lion's den,
So many irrelevant times,
What is that elevated mocking,
Who is it that knocking,
Rapping on my hovel door,
With nothing to say,
Is it the Angel of death calling,
Or that raven haired succubus,
That I find so appealing,
All the obvious signs,
Point to me,
Dwelling there,
I've lived with myself,
Died by myself,
Existing through life after life,
Enduring death after death,
Managing all my human feelings,
Sorting through all my spiritual emotions,
Only my guardian Angels knelt,
Only my green-eyed succubus,
Truly knows how love dwelt,
Truly knows about life and guilt ,
Truly knows about death's rigid deals,
Knows how poor Judas truly felt,
Only knows how shrouded man truly feels.