A young man chanting
an old verse--near the circle
a thirst taking shape

The soil laced with worms...
rain and nightfall sharpening
a still deeper thirst

Night, a ruined church
The spellbound man sees heaven--
her mantle unfolds

Dawnlight emeshed in
thick curtains; her memory
still catching his breath

Scarred by a longing
deeper than day--the possessed
awaiting the damned

Under covertures
of earth--the sheer loveliness
that is her sleeping

No veil can conceal
her pallor--moonlight crossing
a church's stained glass

Cold hands, breath mingling,
she plays with dreaming children
near the chasm's edge

The driftage of snow
on fresh graves--swirling to steam
as she gazes there

In the forest's cold
depts, hunters following wolf
tracks, following her

Winter's end: the tips
of a bow have kissed, her heart
encasing its shaft