Across the burnt field
I carry my load
I pierce the smoky expanse
my energy flags 
I yearn for rest 
but the burden gets heavier
I am alone 
and slog for both of us.

I converse with my mind: 
“Please, a small spell
to float this flood
to higher ground.
Find an ounce of push,
then I can unravel.”

A midnight exhaustion overtakes me
I lay depleted
at wits end 
I pray
a surrender 
concede 
abandon 
my self
gaunt, frail, devoid.

Before sleep an appeal
to a power greater than me
deliver me from these ashes.