His Face All Red

A few weeks ago, I read the webcomic "His Face All Red" by Emily Carroll
(http://emcarroll.com/comics/faceallred/01.html), which possessed me to write this:

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How could you be so well, brother
How could you be so right
When I killed you with a push, brother
in the woods, that night

As we gather in the tavern
The crowd around you grows
And I cannot understand, you see
How nobody there knows
That the man who stands before them
Though he seems like brother mine
Is no relation to human men
with beastly light he shines

I was trying to be hero-ish
That day deep in the woods
To emulate my brother dear
The way that all men should
But my jealousy was stronger
than my bravery that night
when I killed my bother in the woods
Killed him there without a fight

How could you be so well, brother
How could you be so right
When I killed you with a push, brother
in the woods, that night

For a fortnight and a fortnight more
a beast had roamed the land
killing livestock, wrecking fences
Like a hammer from Thor's hand
When my brother lost his holdings
I stood up to hunt the beast
Facing laughter from the townsfolk
For of brothers, I was least

But he stood up there beside me
"We shall bring the terror down"
And the laughter then subsided
As we stood before the town
And that night we walked the forest
Walked the woods all quiet and dark
And my brother talked to loudly
And our way he did not mark

How could you be so well, brother
How could you be so right
When I killed you with a push, brother
in the woods, that night

Then we came upon a shadow
Dug so deep into the ground
The scent of lilac floating
like from ladies in the town
As we knelt to see the bottom
He the greater, I the least
From trees around came growling
There he found us, had the beast

Without thinking, I ran far away
Into the woods that night
And when I finally did return
My brother'd slayed the blight
"Twas a wolf, that's all" he said to me
"A wolf, he laughed so gay
And I knew that all the town would be
So grateful the next day.

How could you be so well, brother
How could you be so right
When I killed you with a push, brother
in the woods, that night

As we laughed I stepped around him
as if to see the beast up near
But then I spun and hit him
Twice and thrice, from the rear
When the work was done, I dragged him
His face all dark and red
To the shadow in the ground
and let him fall, for he was dead

Then I carried back the beast
To the town on shoulders wide
And a scrap of coat all bloodied
That my brother wore that night
"We had split up," I told the townsfolk,
"The beast devored him all,
"But I killed the monster then,
"And avenged my brother's fall."

How could you be so well, brother
How could you be so right
When I killed you with a push, brother
in the woods, that night

And they cheered me then, the villagers
even my brother's wife
And though I feared another attack
Through the night survived all life
People thanked me and consoled me
For my loss and bravery
And my brother's farm and animals
Were given then, to me.

So I slept the sleep of innocense
No dreams to stir and toss
And three days did pass without a death
Three days without a loss,
But on the third day from the woods
My brother walked from there
"Thought I was lost," he said so loud
"But my brother led me here."

How could you be so well, brother
How could you be so right
When I killed you with a push, brother
in the woods, that night

And as the townsfolk cheered and laughed
I knew it was not him.
His wife was fooled, the mayor too
But I knew t'was not my kin
For though he looked just like the man
I'd known since I was born
It could not be my brother slain
His fine coat was not torn.

So now my dreams are scarred with fear
And sleep I cannot make
His face all red I always see
Red when life I did take
And every night I see him there
out in the emtpy fields
He's digging down so very deep
And shadows he reveals

How could you be so well, brother
How could you be so right
When I killed you with a push, brother
in the woods, that night

Now every morn, I stumble in
To break fast in his home
But he will not deign to look at me
So now the woods I roam
And finally one night I find
The shadow in the ground
And down I climb the putrid walls
To see what can be found.

When I have reached the bottom
Of the shadow well so deep
And with the lantern flickering
I will find what I do seek
My brother's body, slumped across
the floor, his face all red
But as I reach to touch him, his eye opens...
He's not dead.

How could you be so well, brother
How could you be so right
When I killed you with a push, brother
In the woods, that night