Burnt-Out Ends
Through smoke-severed sky
The sun ignites the air of gravid days,
And when the streets melt to lava,
Weak feet stick firm to destructive resolve.
Gone in raging arson,
Hot wind steals life's ashes from singed hands,
Polishing them to glittering dust
Washed clean in blackened rain.
Let fall upon the pavement
The ruins of buildings and bridges that burn;
Let walls of flame be confidantes
To trapped and fragile thoughts within.
The silence gathers, taut and quivering
To pierce the heart of morning
With its dying spark.
©1999 Elizabeth Hebert
back to poetry
|
