They came to me, demanding compliance
I took the knee in hidden defiance
I kissed their seal, played show-puppet
Carried their banner, and my sword
Carried out their will. What I harbored
Was not ready to emerge yet
Obedient and treacherous Xe who hastens
The advance of self-defeating plans
False heir to their folly, mistook my zeal
For piety. They didn't catch the irony
As I outlived them all: their rotten
Wall, their mortal gods, their ashen
Throne. It was budding: sickening mold
A ravenous chorus of things to come
And here it blooms: I am dark
Bryony, I am the garden and the lark
That which sees beyond beauty or decay
The porous Xne: gold, teal, vermilion
No more hiding: otherness found a way
For I am MILLION
