Randal A. Burd, Jr. is an educator, freelance editor, writer, and poet. His poetry has most recently been featured by Halftime Magazine, The Society of Classical Poets, Ancient Paths, The Chained Muse, and Rue Scribe.
Randal received his Master’s Degree in English Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Missouri. He currently works on the site of a residential treatment facility for juveniles in rural Missouri. He lives in southeast Missouri with his wife and two children.
Blades of Doubt
There may be greater horrors for causing dread
Than chinks within the armor of the mind
Where blades of doubt impale the hope they find
One holds for not communing with the dead.
Worms feast upon the flesh of those who fed
Upon the myths of immortality–
Not speaking of religiosity,
But time extended here on Earth instead.
There must be more than limiting one’s fear
In seeking resurrection for the soul–
A humbler and far more modest goal
Than dodging death, but never less sincere.
Pursuits which mark our struggle for control
Intensify as chaos gathers near.