Rising Beyond

Rising Beyond by Odin Roark Sadness shackled his heart Dry eyes did forever weep Pain knowing no release Death seducing reason How often he had tried The purge of wounded breath Remaining dormant In lungs long exhausted His voice inhabited silence His spirit roamed homeless Days came and went Without sunrise or sunset This day he did climb Through conifer and juniper Traversing granite cracks As voices of the wind bade summons Atop an airless summit He did stand Nature’s cardinal points They did beckon The west Held cloud mixed sunshine The east Did lightning strike From north and south Did arched rainbow appear From his pocket he did draw Silver vessel forged ancestral Its contents of ash expectant His grieving fingers unsteady Ghostly cremains rose skyward Cherished spirit did soar Lightning’s echo vented quiet Airless summit found chorus She was free