Together we rolled—wheels groaned ‘long the rocky path,
Wagon aimed West, our new life: a settler’s dream. But
Spokes broke down fording a stream. Lost. An icy gale
Drenched our wood. Night settl’d, so disturbed an Ancient Tree,
Lone, it towered ov’r the prairie; axe chopp’d, hands mistook,
While bough thawed and shook. Warmth revived ‘til cinder smoke
Dissolved my flesh; soul bounced through new and old,
Lost was I, memory could define, not be untold.
Not where but when—to find a way to you again?
Alone; retraced steps but on’y led to place unknown,
Campfire puffed and stilled till something eerily shown.
Your image flashed n’ front the great orange wheel,
Haunted, the turquoise sky almost froze. The wind whipp’d,
Until wildflowers danced and slowed; a Frantic call
Echoed through my skull—your voice oft’ stirred past n’ all:
“Where gone now?” Eyes wide shut but can’t supplant
A warm touch. Is’t the sun? Or your hand. Mesmerized,
Clouds seem to capsize; could Time be tweaked or tamed?
A brute in moonlit shadows, patient, pale and unnamed.
Drawn to me it was for certain. My single fire, moth to flame,
Nigh roars as beasty tracked me—first cry stirred the game.
When it crept down shaded mountaintops, I ensnared
In cobbled stone. Safe thought I; its limbs encumbered,
But seeped into reverie while body slumbered,
Till loins tucked pillory to unstitch the seam of days.
And invaded ageless memories, it withstood
Mere flesh and bone. My wandering heart ambushed,
Forever distempered. Forever alone.
With each new day, eyes strained to find a sky less grey.
Ne’er forget: Happiest with you when I knew not:
How one act released the glimmering in Its flames.
From our campfire the ancient bark was forged: atoms
Colliding. Heat transforming; man and energy One.
Clutching my hand, the weight of your breath vanished,
My new life uncoupled beneath a rising sun.
Most inauspicious test. On my own since
After falling through time, each second, minute, hour,
More unfamiliar than the rest. Seasons passed
Unmeasured, too frequent, more idle—soul’s choler:
Food bland in flavor. Life, in prairie, lusterless.
With no plan, little prospect, the end is nigh:
Empty pangs of discontent o’erpowered the
Thrill of a Sioux’s embrace. A fiery sensation
Sparked the blood, but fleeting when nerve littered,
My senses culled, then jittered. And what fun it
Could have been with you by my side? No
Shootout could eclipse the warmth of your lips.
Sweat steam rising from your breath on a dewy morn.
Without you, the chill strangled nights, the lack of game,
Weakened the twine, until snap, unraveled,
Dusk cocooned into eternal fright.
To touch your face again. To wipe the tears
From your sunburnt cheeks. The spur pinching my
Side, with little meaning left. But did time
Pass me by? Aged beyond the years, have I?
Couldn’t imagine your harrowed face. The
Heavy wrinkles squeezing shut your eyes. So
Alone; forsaken, standing in the snow. Blame me
As I blame myself—unless time stalled—cold,
And not a minute passed by since our memory stole.
If the last resort fails, my soul shan’t long remain:
A ghost that loved yet loves in vain.
Last portal to chase. Final hill to climb.
My heartbeat slowed, slower than beast behind;
Its mouth waiting wide, hush of dust in dawn—
In darkness I’m falling, illusive call of fawn.
The cold canyons I haunted rippled and stilled,
Your whisper tolled low n’ wild, “Where gone now?”
Time to vanish, vanquish or stalk love unfulfilled.