Our March

Hour by hour, we wait -
There was a time when
I'd have called it peace.
The light shrinks and falls back,
And I can taste tanned skin
Like it's not just an idea.
You like to pretend you know
What it's like -
That strange, dry heat
Under an oppressive sun,
Wicked and perfect.
You make everything heavy.
I'll not be swayed, but we
Can do one fine thing.
Push came, and we shoved,
So contained and immediately there -
An arduous cavalry.
But this is a cold
And desperate shine.
I can see it in the way your eyes
Settle just this side of mine -
That slip-slide of weakness.
Don't slide away from me.
Come down to the water,
Vigilant and desperate to
Know what men can know,
And whispering things that
Seem safer with the Sun's
Paler sister shining down on us.
This is a different kind of fire -
A thing bound to me from
All directions.
Our march into the wild lands
Is a history worth knowing.