STEEP GRADE

miles of asphalt stretch
to darkening horizons
mountains curve in blackness
to thirty-nine trucks asleep

the demons keep trying
and bring the world of darkness
to some ungodly light

my ears are filled with emptiness
and airbrakes
and the barest moan
escapes my lips
where man meets demon(ess)
and the trucks smile glows into night

a single bead of sweat
follows a line of hair
torturing your deluged ear
a parody of Mississippian anger
a need for heat and light
yet we do meet
where salty foam and cotton weave
are given excess
water enlivens tortures
brings green to brown
and wakes you from your dreams

god-like is your every line

your every line is god-like ........... god-like is your every line

though you do not see it ........... but you will never see it

your every word is silver ....... golden speaks your every word
though you do not hear .......... but sunlight seems too pure

I see you move in grace ................. with faltering step you move
hand in hand with nature ................ I watch with blackened eyes
as the falling of leaves ... like the damned that draw more light
or sunset over water ........... and give but darkness to my sighs

your form is one of pleasure ......... pain belies your angel's form
though you do not think it ....... but in that you are lost
your soul is one of beauty ...... blackness can surround your soul
though you do not know .................. and so your eyes can rust