Stray Wolf (2020)

STRAY WOLF

beyond these woods
there is a stray wolf running
from the winter hunt
like a shadow of life

on its ragged back
gray like the evening sky 
under lonely moonlight
i will ride this night

over fields of rye 
his feet will tear through darkness 
until the morning stars shine 
from the cold black sky

his old white fangs 
shine like silver arrows 
in the depth of the marches 
where no humans dare

across mountain dew
where all the world lay open 
his frozen breath is howling 
to the fading moon

when i see the sun 
glow like a ring of sulfur 
we have reached the summit
i lay down to die

my journey’s done
from the human heartland
on the back of the stray wolf 
to the end of life

i will rise again 
in the shape of a demon 
and unleash the ocean
my stray wolf
my stray wolf

CORONA

i stand alone on joshua bridge
by the traffic light
the rain feels like acid to my skin
i see a car that’s burning
its lights are like the cold
naked silver eyes of a scorpion

i follow the long road
to the end of town 
to a building site left to rust 
the cranes look like preachers
staring at the sky 
waiting for the blessing from a scorpion

all through this night
when every thief crawls through my window
i find someone
has been walking in my shoes

i walk to the houses
high up on the hill 
waiting like giants for the flood
i see through every curtain
that shadows are asleep 
caught by the eyes of a scorpion

i see the stormclouds gather
and lightning strike the trees 
i raise my arms toward the falling sky 
there was a time when people
rushed along the streets 
blinded by the poison from a scorpion

an ambulance-scream
like a cry of pain through the city
the driver is void
and his eyes are lost beyond reason
they block out the light
from the street lights that shimmer like diamonds
crowning a face
living a life with no meaning

all through this night
when every thief crawls through my window
i find someone
has been walking in my shoes

i come to the supermarket
where the floor is gone 
the roof is hanging like a broken jaw
i see a long-lost child there
abandoned to the flood 
his empty eyes stung by a scorpion

i walk up the staircase
to see beyond the clouds 
see the horizon open up 
i can see the fires
from the power plant explode 
into the night like blood from a scorpion

i wade across the river
to the city cemetery 
walk across the flowers left to rot 
i see in every headstone
people trying to hide 
they all carry the poison of a scorpion

all through this night
when every thief crawls through my window
i find someone
has been walking in my shoes

all through this night
when every thief crawls through my window
i find someone
has been walking in my shoes