Under the greying autumn skies
I stare out over the barren townscape
And contemplate…

The ashes of the world smoulder gracefully
As the last essence of life
Floats homewards as a cloud
Lonely and apathetic

We try to escape to life…
But here we are trapped in existence
Our death is beyond memory
So we sit and contemplate another ending

My hands are tired…
Maybe I have written too much
I have spent so many years
Writing my life so it is no longer trapped within me
And now I wonder…
Do I have life outside my words?

Words can give so much
But mine have only given me away
And cut my soul into small pieces

And so I sit here…
Watching the ashes of life crumble around me

Do I even dare to look at myself?
All I do is sit and contemplate…
Turning my life into words
The words are my ashes…
Can my life rise from them?

I await my arising…
Viva la phoenix

09/21/2000

Posted on 06/23/2004
Copyright © 2025 Richard Vince