When youth widens in greeting,
the only thing to do is shy away
to the hushed corners to avoid the petrifying ache
Yes, it's lonely, and it's cold, and there is no hint of anything like hope, but the shapes are comforting, in their reliable geometric beauty
After all, this was fleeing the wrong figure, to achieve the right
The solemn, purer, incandescent one
This is why terror is a small sacrifice

-cj