Prince of Silence
“FIREBALL HORROR AT THE PALACE” ~
London Evening Standard, p. 1, February 9, 2016
He didn’t leave a note. He didn’t tell
A soul. No whisper even from his death
Was given as he left his private hell.
The only message was the whooshing breath
Of flames exploding all around his skin
And clothes out there inside palace bounds.
The light by the orangerie within
The royal walls illuminated grounds
As they had not been lit before with flares
Of flesh and burning of a mind in pain.
Those fire extinguishers met his prayers
Too weakly, though. He managed to attain
Escape beyond the burning life he’d known
As meaninglessly as a noiseless moan.