I Can'T Decide. Story Poem Poem by ivor or ivor.e hogg

Oil lamps burn on either side
Of a polished stone centrepiece.
Its only purpose is to guide
The task performed by the high priest

The celebrant is crimson clad.
He speaks a language long since dead.
The strangest dream I ever had
Which filled me with a sense of dread.

I knew I dreamed but it seemed real
I tried to wake to no avail.
Held in a trance as strong as steel
My puny efforts doomed to fail.

It was as if against my will
I was transported to the past
By some magician with the skill
The bonds of time to overcast.

I could tear my eyes away
Beneath the altar though unbound
The sacrificial victim lay
Willing to die: His faith profound.

His death would bring fertility
Ensure the future of his clan
So they could thrive successfully.
Thanks to the courage of this man

The priest despatched him with one stroke
The young man died without a sound
The priest turned to the crowd and spoke.
The words he uttered echoed round.

Although I could not understand
a single word.Somehow I knew
That he obeyed his Gods command
As he was duty bound to do.

Then I awoke quite suddenly
The sacrifice had set me free.
But was it fact or fantasy
I cannot say positively.

Perhaps some racial memory
embedded in the D.N.A
My forebears had passed down to me
Had been triggered in some way.

That vivid dream still bothers me
It is a dream I shan’t forget
I choose to call it fantasy
But I have doubts that linger yet.

Alternative reality
Or just a dream about the past
It could be neither possibly.
But I was glad when it had passed

I think about it frequently.
But find that I cannot decide
If it was fact or fantasy.
It seems my doubts will long abide.