ASCENTION

"But these golden tricks are old
and pale.
I feel my men in me most
when I'm alone."
And she hunkered to the pavement,
cigarette in hand,
choughing up the whispers
of her demons.
And I could feel the claws
that gnawed at her breast
with shackles reaching far
from a warm and quiet place
of ill-gotten peace.
And pieces of dreamed glory
skattered about her tired frame
in the face of some eternal flame.
So I held my hand to it,
to remember all the damage it can do
when you come across a humanity
more powerful than you.
And I struggled to pull my floating body
down along the length of chain
to get my spirit grounded in its sorrows
once again.