The Messenger and The Knife

The most dangerous weapon
and treasure trove of knowledge,
adorned, head to toe
with bites and scratches,
melancholically droops,
left to splinter, dramatically alone.
Cyclically beheaded,
made new and old
beyond objection
or recognition
or concern for the eyes,
a daily paradox of aging
disappears without notice.
Now you are hunted,
because you ran
when you shouldn’t have.
What will happen to you,
now that you are lost?
You obstructed the story,
there was more to be said.
You are more obsolete
than I had imagined.
Not so readily practiced,
now that we have forgotten
how to make mistakes
and how to fix them
and how to learn from them.
Workhorse of the mind’s eye
and slim gesture of friendship,
I am not surprised you escaped me.