How the birds still gather
around him, one-eyed god,
at least they love him with
their ebony plumage, perching
on his bearded ego.  Destitute,
we saw him lowly, brought down,
others no longer professing faith
in rule over Valhalla.

[JD deHart is a teacher and writer.  His work has appeared recently in Crack the Spine, Ancient Heart Magazine, and Eye On Life Magazine, among other journals.  His blog is spinrockreader.blogspot.com.]