Visitor

Someone visited me yesterday.
He stood tall in my backyard.

Eyes bright,
Eager, expectant.

Dread filled me, and panic.
I shivered, looking at him.

He looked awesome.
And I loved him.

I thought of his story,
How he had come, this far.

And the legacy,
Of arrogant dignity.

Then he turned,
And moved away.

I thought of my children,
Of horrifying stories.

I ran and killed him.

How I wish it ended there.
Just as Promethean guilt.

But I am doomed to regret
And wept for a kinship no more.

For a beautiful being,
Suddenly no more.

I killed the snake
That visited me
In my loneliness.