The veil, the veil, it coats me in labor and delay!
I tarry not by will but by mass, form, and time.
Face turned to heaven, toes to its floor I will let the sea overtake me,
As though its current could slake this hiraeth,
This riptide of yearning that pulls at my soul.
Truly, to stand before the sea is to be audience to the world.

Perched on the Gravitron he scans the terrain of treadmills, stairmasters, aerobicycles
His eyes searching out someone with whom to nest,
To share some warmth, some care
Before soaring high to travel to places unknown.

I am warmed by another fire, a consuming fire which leaves its object intact, yet burns out the impurities bit by painful bit
I long for the comfort of a companion, the sharing of places we've been, the people we've seen
But I hold true to the hearth of the divine fire which promises constancy.

From my vantage point on the Polaris
My eyes follow
His eyes scanning the terrain of aerobicycles and
Rowing machines, looking for somewhere to rest his weary soul
His eyes engaging the eyes of a fellow traveller
And I know...
Once more, before he continues his flight,
He will find shelter.

1995