I remember the shadows that leapt away
From fractures promising life in a dying darkness.
I pried apart every fissure
To wrap myself in the glowing heat they held.
The surface rose and fell with each heartbeat,
Undulations carrying me through the changes.
I saw the minuscule divide to become many
And the many grew in might
Till their every move echoed through time.
I shed the cloak I’d made ages ago –
Warmth could be found in fire abundant.
Stone crumbled, bronze corroded, and iron rusted.
Their impermanence was irrelevant
Next to the promise met ten thousandfold.

I stumble over a chunk of twisted steel –
Too hot to reclaim its original shape –
And fall hard on tessellated ground.
I lie there choking with ancient laughter,
Dry tears straining against millennia of ashes.
This is as good a spot as any.
Let me rest here for a moment
And dream of decisions never made.

Want more content like this?