14. When We Awaken...

["And so, dear hearts, we reach the conclusion of our little journey and close the ring of the corona with the first line of the poem we started with a little more than a month ago -- indeed, I had no idea where it would lead, no more than my reader." -- the note the unknown poet prefaced the final stanza of his "Our Common Insanity" corona.]

As we slip into our common insanity,
with a soldier of darkness and a prince of peace;
ís there anything from the hand of a man you can trust
and what of that "Bright City of Light Upon the Hill"?

"When we get home, I wonder, what kind of future we'll face?"
"We're counting to three and then you better run!"
"Not snake-eyes again! Quick roll the dice!"

What is it, deep down, that we're afraid to mention:
That the "Lord" we serve rules a kingdom of death?

When the wounded heart, so long denied, reappears
behind a pack of lies and flatulence,
is it then we'll hear the Fenris' gutteral cough?

War has become greater than Pestilence!

When we awaken, will we hear dogs barking..?
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I haven't found that he mentions it anywhere, but note that he makes use of another device. He doesn't simply repeat the lines, but tweaks them in small ways, somewhat changing their meaning.

Finally, please note that he started with barking, but ends his journey with an odd question:

"When we awaken, will we hear dogs barking?"