Leiermann Poem

Leierman:
Now that you’re here, my sad, lonely friend,
And a long winter’s journey has come to an end,

At the edge of a brave new world you now stand,
Just one step across the line drawn in the sand.

I know why you came here, through cold ice and snow
What drove you to press on, what you had to know.

It’s all on the other side waiting for you
To take that step forward. And then when you do,

The phantom companion you saw in your head
Will no longer haunt from the shadows; instead

He will be always with you, not far from your side,
Lost not to the Shadowlands. Nor does he hide

His face among those souls forgotten, erased,
Dead, gone and buried in graves, laid to waste

In Lethean bliss. No, your twin is quite real,
The man whose cold fingers you sometimes can feel

Press soft on your shoulders. So no longer fear
The presence of him whom you saw in the mirror.

The device I have here, a peculiar contraption
Has not yet been tested, nor proven to work in

All situations. But once in a trial,
As I stood waiting for my results to compile

I saw standing next to me there in the room,
My own figure. Surely, my heart filled with doom,

But later I realized his countenance bore
No trace of ill guile; rather he wore

The benevolent smile of one who would bear
Good will, and not the cold empty stare

Of death or lost hope. No, he was my friend.
Born of my own flesh. But then in the end,

I turned the machine off, for my strength had expired.
What would have happened if I hadn’t retired

From my phantom encounter, and took one step t’ward him?
My brain might have melted, or I would have come to some grim

Veg’tative end. But still in my soul
I believe the illusion could have made me whole.

So my boy, I have watched you, from when you were born,
And I know of the brother from which you were torn.

I offer this glorious Thing to your using,
That in sound theory should help you in fusing

Your soul to the lost shadow I have extracted
To relieve the cruel penance that Fate has exacted.