tonight—my smudged ochre sun
fell from his perch of smoky despair
a silhouette of the burning heartbreaks
of many a hard-western life—and dream

with parched stings of teary eyes
I breathe deep the choking haze and
respond with brash shuddering coughs

then abruptly—inside his gloomy yawn
my rusting orb descends farther down
into a bed of dimly ashen greys and
lavender sleep—still in adoration
for his everlasting companion—
while our world just rolls on
upon her firm silent wings
into the cooler sides of
darkness—wrapped
in a calm river of
timeless space

 a repose—where
God’s gentle touch
again—baths her soul in
the all-consuming snowfalls
of distant and devoted starlight
soothing away her drearier mists
and calming all her worried hearts

 till again—when my sun prepares
to greet her on another new day
another blaze of morning
embracing her within
his immense grasp
of sunshine in
a hope of
clear
air