This is for the flames
This is for the flames that do not flicker
Who burn with incendiary fire
Whose livid candles ceaseless flare
Who do not relent
Whose shadows grow tall and strong, stalk their bodies relentlessly
To stay on after and merge with the shadows of trees, of rocks, of other
Women and men
Your song will echo eternal
The notes only growing more audible
The truth beautiful, transparent
You who the world will throw its own head back and scream
'you cannot go, it is too soon'
This is for the bright fires
The bright fires of dawn, noon and dusk
Afterburners, pure petroleum jets, fed on fuel unknown
This is for the death lamps, the wild-eyed, true skulls
The immortal shades, the antidotes
Equal parts serum and poison
You, yes you
In the shadows
The immortal cures of the world
For the last fires
The dying flame