I saw four horsemen riding

Hell for leather through the sky,

Their capes flowed out behind them in their wake,

I thought I must be dreaming,

So of course I rubbed my eyes,

Hoping that I’d made a huge mistake.

I heard their hideous laughter

As they thundered overhead,

Their horseshoes striking sparks amongst the clouds,

I looked around before me,

Everyone I knew was dead,

Once more I heard the horsemen laughing loud,

They cried “We gave the warnings

But nobody understood,

Now the prophesy has come to pass,

All you had to do was act,

The way Gods children should,

Now it’s too late.” I heard the horsemen laugh,

Then the heavens started falling

And the earth began to shake,

Buildings all around me turned to dust,

I cried “This can’t be happening,

It’s a dream for heaven’s sake,

This can’t really be the end of us.”

But a horseman pointed skyward,

Told me, “Look toward the stars.”

And I watched as every one of them went dark,

He told me, “What you’re seeing,

Is the sum of what you are,

The darkness is reflected from your hearts.”

I cried, I begged, I pleaded,

“Is there nothing we can do?

Anything to change our chosen path?” 

The horsemen’s laugh grew louder,

As their horses thundered through,

I knew our time on earth was ending fast,

But out there in the distance,

A star still seemed to glow,

Stubbornly it held on to its light,

And I heard somebody whisper,

“Someone must believe, I know,

That’s all it’s going to take to put things right.”

Amid the bolts of lightning,

Struck up from the horses hooves,

Slowly I sank down upon my knees

And thanked the Lord Almighty,

That I had the right to choose,

Knowing in my heart that I believed,

The horsemen’s laugh grew fainter

As they faded out of sight,

But I heard them say that someday they’d return,

When mankind had forgotten,

What nearly happened here tonight,

For it’s known, our species never really learn,

An alarm sounded beside me,

Once again I rubbed my eyes

And listened to the birds sing in the trees,

Did it really happen?

I couldn’t quite decide,

But in my heart I knew I still believed,

Perhaps I only dreamt it

And those horsemen don’t exist,

Some childish delusion from the past,

But I’d rather be deluded

Over something such as this,

Than ever hear again, the horseman’s laugh

By S.E. Ralph

21-8-2002