The cliff feels nothing;
As the avalanche scores its face.
The deity that frees the snow's mooring;
Is surely safe from its rage.
The mountains conceive naught;
The gods cause gales to whistle.
But man knows too much;
And can do too little.

Said the wind, sea, moon and sun to the earth below,
'Who, from amongst us, is the lovers' greatest foe?'

Said the earth to them from below,
'Sing me your merits, if the answer you fain would know'.

Sang the wind:
'Lovers' oaths that none may rescind,
I carry from the Alps to the lands of the Sind',
Sang the wind.

Sang the sea:
'Lovers to my shores are wont to flee,
When from life's worries, they would be free',
Sang the sea.

Sang the moon:
'Surely, my light's the lovers' greatest boon,
During their delights in night's tender cocoon',
Sang the moon.

Sang the sun:
But it is only by my light, when night is done,
That a lover may see the face of a beloved one,
Sang the sun.

The cloth is wound around my head;
Gripping my temples.
The gravel crunches beneath my knees.

The twine bites into my wrists;
Fastened in a knot that mirrors the arrangement of my gut.

The sun;
Glaring;
Blazes down upon the world.

All is bare

The rifle is cocked.
The bullet chambered.

The work is done;
The image emerges.

This is my portrait of love.

Thus it sits now;
Though at other times
It is, with outstretched arms,
Nailed fast to a tree.

At other times;
Swinging from the gallows

At other times;
Kneeling.
With the executioner's block for a pillow

It is all the same;
Always the perfect painting in red.

The rifle is cocked;
The bullet chambered.

All is bare.

The song, it tells you who you are;
When from self you've strayed afar.

The night, it tells you who you are;
The clear dark that shrouds a star.

The wind, it tells you who you are;
Zephyr's window left ajar.

Seated on the earth with night, wind and sound;
That's the farthest one can be from the ground.

Have you ever shut your eyes;
Stopped your ears and stilled your heart?

Have you ever chased a dream;
Through plains of clouds and endless streams?

Have you ever touched a sound;
Seen a hug or heard a smile?

Have you ever been a fool;
Thinking naught impossible?

Have you been alive my friend?

Few ever have, before the end.