"KSAM" by Connor E

                   A puzzle without edges that will never be completed, pieces being flipped back and forth, yet never together. A shield from the world, taking blow after blow, punches, slaps, insults, cries of mockery, now shattering to the floor, an individual released from torment. It takes its shape from the reaches of the clouds in the skies to the fiery pits of hell. It resembles someone who never really was there, vanishing on the curtails of the wind. A prison with no escape, trapped in the vastness of space and time, every inch of darkness enveloping the soul. Staring into the eyes of its observer, waiting to be worn, to give its wearer new life. It sees everything, listening, interpreting the surrounding environment, yet can never make a sound, its cries as silent as the enveloping abyss of the vast universe. Shifting as a disguise, sneaking into hostile territory and becoming friends with one’s enemy.  Don’t be consumed in its darkening image, trapped within a nightmare fantasmic when wearing it. It survives the reaches of time, as old as the sand itself, forgotten, yet holding the valor of a city in its fabrics. The man notices the city, running away but never finding an escape from its reaches. A drop of water escapes the dam, tainting its surface, realizing its only fading as a relic, the city locked within its orange, radiant eyes.

A touch of exuberance, a hint of comedy, a drop of water, a sheath of stone, a wisp of air, a gauntlet of fire, the touch of life, god himself appears! Piercing the hearts of those who see it, yet still providing protection to its master. Hellfire! Hellfire! A raging inferno roaring across the vastness of the realm, the mind a blinding array of reds, oranges, and light. Chaos, fear, a destructive force that’s only limited by the boundaries of its wearer’s mind. Creation! Destruction! A culmination of life and death, a deafening rage all wisped away . . . now wisped away . . . back to its fabric, binding structure. A peace resides, cracks running its surface, a resolve weakening. It hits the ground, disintegrating into a million pieces, a soul released into the welcoming night sky. From the pages of time, memory embeds itself into the surface of this disguise, a mysterious secret to those unaware of it presence. Birthday parties, dances, robberies, a tool. From professionalism to comedy, watching someone be a fool. It can laugh and smile in exuberant joy, just like its wearer, a jubilant young boy. Different cultures, one portrait, its colors so swirled. A society that wears it throughout the world. A metaphysical idea transformed into an object by man, but when seeing its enveloping image, he ran. An object so simple, not hard to describe, yet when retelling its appearance is impossible to transcribe. A chilling experience when completing this task, to illustrate the man behind the mask.