now without
its beasts and creatures -
alone and flat and
silent.
we followed
the ringlets
and kinks of smoke
over the horizons
into the darkening
north.
a lorn north,
with no south -
no longer.
as the ash
like a tepid
choking snow fell
in sinuous arcs and parabolas
through the gloam -
it fell upon our heads
and into our eyes;
into rivers;
mudding the hills and fields -
we sloughed through it
and no one spoke.
no one had the courage
to utter those useless
words amongst the
smoldering remnants
of trees.
not one of us said goodbye -
unconvinced of this
or any other end
as if this newfound silence
would somehow keep
each of us
from our own
little annihilations
and let our hearts -
finally -
take rest in the
night.
