For four timeless seconds,
The skies were eyes and his were mine to bode.
A cold and bold stare beckons
A stranger unravelling the gravel road.

We meet; he greets and halts the shuffle
Of his feet. Pairs my glare
When I take his hand as we stifle
The fear from one another with care.

"Because of my lode I shall lighten
The load you carry without cause.
My eyes belong to you my brethren
Like a trespassing truth troubling stumbling paws."

Bitten by hunger, the vulture's eyes steady the path of the wild dog.
"I have seen your herd
Prancing through the fog
Dancing like a headless bird

Through the pass afore the lean,
Past the crest of sacred grounds
Steering where your soles have been.
The graze astray from barking hounds."

And there goes my hope
In tatters and ragged apparel.
Effortless and careless he paces his lope
As though the path he crumbles was a familiar carol.