Also a Man
by
Dyce


Disclaimer: Not mine, you know how it goes. . .

---

A shadow whispers through the night,
Drifting through the shadowed woods, with
Pale regret his sole companion.
A name that he cannot recall,
A past that slips through clutching fingers,
Memories frayed like mist at dawn,
Fading fast, gone beyond recall.
Questions without answers are
All that now remain. He wonders
What manner of man he may be;
Or if, indeed, he is a man.
In clear and golden light of day,
All clad in shining hero's garb,
He seems the very essence of
All things that make a man a man,
Courage hath he in full measure,
Honour, the lifeblood of his soul,
And passion both for life and love,
Surpassing that of mortal men.
In light of day, under the sun. . .
But when darkling night creeps in,
Slipping sly through crack and cranny
To twine about his heart and mind,
The man retreats and from the depths,
The beast is, for a time, unchained.
Free, unleashed, he roams the woods
To taste the flowing wind and to
Watch the patterns of the world flow
About him through root, leaf and branch,
To hunt, and catch, and hunt again; he
Lives, and living frees himself
From the ties that bind the man, and
Is in his heart content at last.
But something always calls him back,
To trap himself in raiment of
A mighty hero, sworn to protect.
Perhaps, at times, he yearns to go
And leave those trappings far behind;
To run until the world runs out,
And leave the human world behind.
But such will never be, he knows,
Although he chafe at the restraints
That by his own choice he hath made,
He will not, by choice, let them go.
For even in the darkest night,
The beast hath still, within, a man.



All references to characters belonging to the X-Men Universe are (c) and TM the Marvel Comics Group, 20th Century Fox and all related entities. All rights reserved. Any reproduction, duplication or distribution of these materials in any form is expressly prohibited. No money is being made from this archive. All images are also (c) and TM the Marvel Comics Group, 20th Century Fox and all related entities; they are not mine. This website, its operators and any content used on this site relating to the X-Men are not authorized by Marvel, Fox, etc. I am not, nor do I claim to be affiliated with any of these entities in any way.