Keeper of the Flame

By Osiris Valdés López

He crossed the night of humankind,
he drank of fear, of iron, and of spite;
he saw broken temples, heard the rite
of exile sworn in sanctified names.

He fell a thousand times beneath the same names:
betrayal, silence, abuse, captivity;
yet never did he yield his inner sky to hatred,
nor raise his faith to match his ruins.

For he knew that though the world may tear apart,
within it dwells a primal breath,
a good that even death cannot unbind.

And faithful to that first and sacred light,
he bears hope as one who grips a sword,
a blade of light against the Calvary.

#randomhouse
#osirisvaldéslópez