emily tore herself
from a grace
reserved for all things of beauty
sorrowful spirits
garbed in vestments of the
deeper wisdoms
gathered on a plain
of redemption
pleading for her return

she plucked from her heart
the pedals
that had worshiped the sun
looking back
she expelled a breath
that once spoke of love
wrapping herself in her arms
she stepped into a river
that meandered alone

from on up high
the loneliness of her absence
turned the firmament gray
and the gods begged
for the cup of hemlock
that would rid them of their creations
how these humans
refuse to live
with love and kindness