return to zero (a woman's song)

 
slave am I, slave to man
cast upon a tattered lawn
mournful trumpets
rage of angels
orange sunset, mirrored dawn

rouge my cheeks, red my mouth
one hundred vices in my heart
atlas of clouds
island spices
sundered canvas, covenant art

run with wolves
who howl the moon
to paint a mortal stain
cry the mountain
down the valley
walk the streets of rain

garner silence as my song
the pallid leaves of poetry
white diamond stars
and Spanish guitars
were never made for me

dancer in the gloaming dark
valse triste, alone
my tears to keep
in secrets, deep
my name by shadows known

knights to love her
who would harm her
Joan of Arc
in negligee’d armor

amorphous bruises
beaten harlot
fallen broken hero
seven times seven
chorused crusades
and return
return to zero…


(Art: Albert Arthur Allen)