Just before waking A woman in black Gently took my hand In a kindly way As I crossed a road

With pious intent She sought the penance Confession could grant Her sins for sackcloth Seemed a fair exchange

A bottle of harsh red Bridged another passage Between two vacant days Memories rose and fell With every guilty sip

I’m rice-paper Before a rainstorm Meadow blessed Beauty bound But time tied

The sanctuary of His morning ritual Was breached by a panic A terror of not knowing A faulty neural pathway

Tainted hands covering his face Asterion the monster Captive of the labyrinth Mourned the bloody tribute Devastated at his feet

Stirred by early light Dream amnesia melts Me back from half-life My arm lies coldly Where it once circled