BUTTER AND SAND

He was an ordinary man
With no land of his own
He carried his flag in his heart
And took his home to the road.

He was an ordinary man
and righteous was always a matter of degree
With limbs of Mercury
And a ballast of stone.

He was an ordinary man
In ruby robes
And prismatic cast.

Mounted high and away
Set in butter and sand
Was an ordinary man
From a mystical land.

There was an incandescent light
As he entered the room,
A pause as he wove
His wrist ‘round my soul.

His reflection cut through
The crowd and fell over the lens.

He was an ordinary man
From an ancient place
Protected by time, and yet
Just out of reach.

The length of his lives
The breadth of his spool
Led an ordinary man
Toward, and then through.

The air was orange
And time stood still
The diplomats passed
The soldiers gazed

At an ordinary man
Who lived a sacred life.