why does he drag himself back to my pyre,
disturbing the pools of blood barely settled
from our last battle
his body cleaves through red seas
that slowly merge behind him

panting as he hauls,
isn't he tired?
is he so determined to have changed
since our last bloodletting?
he may no longer hoard matches,
but even up this high I hear
the distinct clicks of an empty lighter,
flint assiduously hitting steel,
the soft flicks, a forewarned tempo,
the dreaded count down