Stumpy sighed; that's as delphic as I'd ever hope to hear..
Aw c'mon Jumper, give a bloke a break,
My cares and hopes have lost which way is up,
I feel like driftwood on a storm bound coast.
My name there on the roof once meant a safe and boring home,
But then … he mumbled, half ashamed,
I was thumped … shit, what can a man say.

The other watched him keenly,
Quivered slightly in his chair, as if the message came
From worlds unseen but near,
And then he rippled gently
With a laugh both deep and clear. Nice crumpets, those
He offered … My friend, Stumpy, you've met time's end,
Decision's pain, upon the bough of Ydgrasil.

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