Early evening
new year's day
when furnace heat
had ebbed away
I walked across
the bridge alone
to shed the fears
I had outgrown.
I crossed
towards the east;
lightning shimmered
sullen sheets
along the western
skyline's rim;
nebulously overlaid
on a lofty
bed of haze
a hand upraised,
the fingers splayed,
the old year spanning
the abyss, reaching out
to touch the lambent
new year's lunar
arc of heel.
I turned
beneath the cloud-
blurred crescent;
where the phantom
palm had spread
dim-fingered rays
the hand was gone,
my fears had fled,
the new moon hid.
I stood
on the deserted bridge,
as growling hounds
with fiery breath
flashed metallic
whiplash threat,
coursed like warlords
overhead...
1.01.09