if you believe in a brilliance
beyond all matter
as such you once did
cradling me to become
rousing quietly; to glide your spine
I rode you like the king you are
and still my horses fell
backs broken from the weight you bear
serenading a conveyance
down across this thick forestry
a landscape I no longer recognize
as such so it is
the flames have reached the mountainside
reminding me you were always the way in
and still; the hope of succeeding -
only a slab of earth
the radius of her torso
enough to hold one
letting go of the other
would remain

HS