A walk in the night
when I can hear my loquacious feet
the innate awareness
of my consciousness and heart’s lone beat

I ask how far I should go
as I try to define an end
waiting for fatigue or a message
that my hopes and fears will send

The world has gone to bed
except the occasional flicker of light
the uncertainty of time
and the threat of dreams in flight

Before me, an open gate
and the deafening whir of birds
breaking from the scraggy grasses
and a misty dust that stirred

This was where I would turn
into this home of stale air
to walk past pedestals
of entombments silent blare

The bleakness and silence of the moon
shepherded me to doom
my heart in a thud of panic
a place of strangely attractive gloom

I was touching my death
and took a deep sigh
a stopped before a sepulcher
…my life began to cry

My wisdom was now a volunteer
providing me with the choice
to face the mighty heavens
or prolong my tottering voice