Someone Else's Kingdom, BOOK II - Scene XCVII
Swords clashed as the waters ravished. Five-pointed stars and fathers of death; f athoms further than the deep. The dreary seabed. A jewel box, with a copper lock and a golden seal. Black lamps of fire. Clouds, as horses across the sky: dark, grey, and white. The starry winepress; the ocean a swampy purple. A hermit stepped onto his rickety rowboat, and headed out into the lashing storm. To escape the warring world, and find peace upon the lonely sea. Calm in heart, he pressed his oar to the swelling waves, his aged body still healthy to the task, as if striving to leave all earthly care. Finding a lull in the heaving tempest he reached down to pull a bottle from his tattered bag. He uncorked it and took a swig. The alcohol tasted sweet and refreshing upon his tongue and lips. He exhaled and took a moment to enjoy the exalt. Sitting there as in a garden. The hissing rain, the turbulent waves and clouds, like birds and their birdsong in the lively trees. He took in another brief mo...