Established Marvel : a Monk by Abbreviation

122. DEATH NEARING:

Dazzling in a winning way they swarmed the cafeteria counter and asked a million questions and posed for photos and sat down together and hands met hands and all things jammed and merged and maneuvered in a single way and the only thing left at the wavering pines was the whispering patron of some ancient lines written long ago in a reverie fine - with pebbles in mouth and beach-fronted twine Demosthenes-style enjoined and consigned to the junk-heap of olden times’ history and olden times’ stories and other days' glories but for whatsoever matter it may have occurred no one ended caring and the story seem to veer until VOILA! we found ourselves walking on ice at some Lake Surprise in the midst of great woods where cars parked in three’s and horses walked by and the grand deserted village turned over itself ‘reading history like this never before’ yet even then I’d wished I was gone and much more instead at the water-wheel I sat and watched things pass along and listened to the trees and their unerring song which whispering again to me sure seemed to say : "we’ve got so far to go and we’ve just left today and the narrow wagons of time in whatever disguise shall stay near us and dog us and twist these fair days yet STAY WITH US SIR oh fine gentleman man we are lonely and sad and throughout this fair land we find there’s a need for good company’s parted and we’re again left alone and seem broken-hearted" so if the water I thought and trees like that talked than who am I to ignore what I’d sensed or I’d thought and I rose up then slowly and bowed to the sky and touched with both hands the tree to my eye and for certain that I was alone and unseen I lifted the cap of the evergreen scene and realized my motives had nothing to do with foraging for love or viewing the zoo of all human-kind as they stumbled and yelped and I took to my glory instead the great belt above me of starlight and moon and walked through the sky as steady as soon and months may have passed while I lived in those woods though there’s nothing I know or recall if I could and hunger had taken its great raging toll like some Van Winkle boy back to this present I stole and said to anyone’s ears who may have been hearing "THIS is my life and this is my bearing" and I took me a room in the Excel Hotel and settled down in comfort and slept ‘till DEATH NEARING.