An Ending
The wind blows and blows and blows.
Swirling, churning dust leaps up from the airstrip
To cloud my thoughts and blind my eyes
In a way that burns the soul, love using grip
Over my being, as heart and mind
Are swallowed in the fiery blaze
Of violent passion that strips a man of love,
Of the gentle peace of mind of quieter days,
To leave only, in the charred remains,
The bitter, unkind, and stiff-hearted stain
Of twisted and burnt-out desires
To be washed and cleansed by the rains,
Leaving nothing.
(Summer 1969 or 1970) South Naknek, Alaska
