he waits....

loyalty has a name....

this name is fraught with anger sometimes.
this name oft strikes out in violence.
he came from a life of hardship and neglect,
he came from a life of lies.

i used to feel his teeth quite often,
but not for many months now.
he sleeps every night pressed into me
every time i arise, he rises to follow.

so many times i disturb his innocent sleep.
he left his nightmares and troubles behind
but they still drag heavily at his feet
casting shadows in his uncertain mind.

not many like him, not man or beast,
and even fewer trust him to be too near.
he is angry sometimes but predictable
and that is what others fear.

tonight as i once again arose,
he followed me to the door.
and there he will sit until i return
to lay and rest some more.

loyalty has a name
it is not always good and kind.
a past cannot be fully erased
to bring peace to a troubled mind.

but inside that heart of fear and rage,
the seed of loyalty lay.
it slumbered and slept til it blossomed and bloomed
into the thorny bush of today.

loyalty has a name
each night he patiently waits......