Lines Written in the Realization That I Must Die
The Black Door gapes and the Black Wall rises;
Twilight gasps in the grip of Night.
Paper and dust are the gems man prizes—
Torches toss in my waning sight.
Drums of glory are lost in the ages,
Bare feet fail on a broken trail—
Let my name fade from the printed pages;
Dreams and visions are growing pale.
Twilight gathers and none can save me.
Well and well, for I would not stay:
Let me speak through the stone you gave me:
He never could say what he wished to say.
Why should I shrink from the sign of leaving?
My brain is wrapped in a darkened cloud;
Now in the Night the Sisters are weaving
For me a shroud.
Towers shake and the stars reel under,
Skulls are heaped in the Devil’s fain;
My feet are wrapped in a rolling thunder,
Jets of agony lance my brain.
What of the world that I leave forever?
Phantom forms in a fading sight—
Carry me out on the ebon river
Into the Night.
R.E. Howard
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