Destiny

my destiny to walk in the burning fields

where the dead still stand in their charred rows

sending up their pleas of smoke into the dull sky

and to be the one who sings the death chant

the afternoon sun of desire has gone down

and the moon weeps stars across the bowl of night

see how my sunset-tinted lips grip tight

while the words of grief and loss stumble in my mouth

the birds have swept down from the canopy of day

to feed upon the broken quarters of my heart

where the fruit has burst upon the ashen ground

kindling a fruitless fire in the fields of love