Mourning's Roar

Monuments of distraction, portals from hell The gates, the temptation, where the misguided dwell Three dimensions the material, where emptiness hides The lions all roaring from cages inside The pathways worn smooth, the comfort is there The direction indifferent, when worn with a flair The roads have all ended, turned in on themselves And darkness locks tightly, all souls on the shelf The shadows of lateness, behind monuments fall Where seeds never sewn, grow heavy and tall In an orchard of indulgence the trophies are stained The fruit of the promise rots endorsed in your name The music is dimming, there's darkness ahead Those memories that haunt us, escort us to bed Where the covers are pulled back, and the curtains are tied All change now beyond us . . . in mourning we lie (Shiprock New Mexico: May, 1996)