Stepping outwards from the boat

The man in hat and black trenchcoat

A parcel cradled in his hand

A message from a distant land

Along the river he does walk

Among the banks where vipers stalk

Among the silt and dancing reeds

Cast down from the heart that bleeds

River Elias flows through time

Space and math comprise its brine

Creaking wood and hums of strings

Signals the judgement it brings

Upon the bank, the hungry house

Where every room becomes a mouth

Veins flow through its plastic walls

Memories, and thoughts, and all

Just when you think that there's no more

The stairs create a second floor

No single choice, not up nor down

Can free you from its bowels now

Pity the man in hat and coat

Who's wandered far off from his boat

A fool's errand he was granted

The parcel's flesh grows sad and frantic

The letter he does pass upon

And just like that, his visit's done

Rowing back to lands above

Evading death, and passing love