We are
surrounded
        by moths.

Pawning the diamonds
at keen witless rate,
who in the world has
won 'gainst fate?

Death is part of life
        They tell us
Yet still we grieve
Still we are bereft
It is our most human trait
It is our noblest gift --

This mourning love for another,
Going past the gates of breath
        and consciousness
Beyond touch and sight
To a place in that distant
        comforting light
Where we all will gather
Someday;

It brings us peace,
And we go on
        by remembering joy --

Time is but a crown
        'round eternity's head,
It must be so
                An endless coronet --

This much is true:
We have been here
        Before. I remember
Everything:
You dancing your way
        to the door,
Ruffling your wings,

Already smiling the
                smile of the Dead,
Yet posing all the right
        questions about your
                little universe --

Ask Moebius if you don't
        believe me.
He understood:
There is no setting out
                or coming home,
Just
One
Timeless
Knowing --

What did you see
When you looked at me
With your black eyes endlessly stern
        and full of contempt,
A gift from your father
Engraved with cheerless words
And he would light a cigarette and
        pat your head in the kitchen
                a thousand years ago --

You dove into silence, the first of many,
Staring at the stove where dinner
        burned its way into oblivion;
You swallowed the room
                All of it
And now you cannot breathe
Undress
Overthrow
Or comprehend the gestures of love --

What did you see
When you looked at me?

There is a stirring
      when one sees with clarity
            what lies ahead --

Edges sharpen, and
      the air pressure drops.
            Trees rustle where
                   there is no breeze;

A wind chime tinkles
      in a desolate place
            and it feels like
                  the end of time--

when i become
      squirrel q u e e n
and you become m e...
  (in those woods)
  (under that sun),

i h o p e you
   recognize m e.

i h o p e you listen for
    my steps,

and i h o p e
    you follow me
  w h e r e e v e r
i go.