The Gargoyle (I)
He peers down from his lofty perch,
above the windows
above the doorframe.
He stares with quizzical eyes;
maybe angry
maybe amused
maybe bitter.
He has the look of an elf,
large pointed ears,
a flat nose.
He seems to laugh at everyone
one moment,
and sneers the next.
A flicker of sunlight
catches his brow
and one is certain
he will come alive
at any moment –
To bestow a blessing
Or a curse.
He peers down from his lofty perch,
above the windows
above the doorframe.
He stares with quizzical eyes;
maybe angry
maybe amused
maybe bitter.
He has the look of an elf,
large pointed ears,
a flat nose.
He seems to laugh at everyone
one moment,
and sneers the next.
A flicker of sunlight
catches his brow
and one is certain
he will come alive
at any moment –
To bestow a blessing
Or a curse.
There are moments in all of our lives when we feel the hot breath of The Gargoyle upon us, with his casual laugh, his instant snarl, and his glaring eyes burning into us. . We wait and we listen for the sound of footsteps, or the sliding of limbs crawling across a sidewalk or a wooden floor. It is not like we have done anything to deserve the prowling, just gone about our usual business. Yet, everywhere, The Gargoyle watches for that instant of opportunity to bite us in the back or send a broken piece of roofing sailng down on our heads. Even in our dreams, he snatches our confidence and then waits at his post on the ledge of some building, hoping to see us fall and shatter into pieces.The trick is that we have to see beyond his illusion, to his true self, to the cold, inanimate object imprisoned forever in stone.