I will take off my red shoes
dance through the streets
and unpaved avenues
of seduction and retreat

I will shake loose the wool
my skin bare to the frost
feel the rising swells
with the time that I've lost

I will feed my clothes to the fire
singe every fiber and strand
reduce the pictures and discs
to grains of polluted sand

I will unhinge the jewels
hanging dead on my skin
instead reaching deeper
to the one curled within

          I spill the bottle next to the bed
          pour capsulated white fortunes
          into the cup of my hand

          I open the bottle from last year in March
          fill a glass to the top and toast
          to the time that I've lost

I've flown through infinity
like wildfire through Hell
watched pieces of the past
sink as shattered shells

I've found peace and place
and forgot all the rest
held the soft hand of death
my final mortal test