White Print Inc
burning clean tonight
i’ve walked through
the cleansing fire
it’s all gone
nothings left
of the past
no coals here
to rake my fingers through
it’s all gone up
in ash and smoke
heat and cold
risen to the surface
blown away
you can see yourself
in the stars tonight
clearer than any memory
it’s time to walk around
take a breath
and enjoy the evening
you can see
yourself in the shadow
on the sidewalk
you can hear
yourself in the rustle
on the street
you can feel yourself
in the heat of the moment
soaked up by the sidewalk
and reflected back at me
it’s funny how
the lines on people’s faces
they react
to the things you say and do
and they react
to the rhythm of the streetlights
the patterns of the stopsigns and the
buildings that tower over me
you can see yourself in
other people’s faces
we all get hungry
we all need some place to sleep
and you can feel yourself
in other people’s places
brought together
by the cry
of the voices and
the violence
the violence
in the streets
and there is
a flash of light
in the heart
of a grove of trees
and the birds
in the air
take flight
and there’s only you and me
and the smoke
and the pouring rain
and the circles within circles in the grain
and I catch your eyes in the night
and there is a flash of light
in the moon and
a grain of sand
the wind
and the touch of your hand
and we circle
like circles
in the night
and there is
a flash
we wait
counting the moments
between the storm
the sky
reaches out
in all directions
the lightning
zig-zags
and returns to you
the night begins
like any other night
with the sun sinking down
into the welcoming obscurity
and just like that
everything is unfamiliar again
and even i
can’t make you
out from the shadows
and the whole world
is like the pit of an eye
and the night remains
like any other night
and nothing I’ve ever seen
is seen
and everything that could be said
has been said
and all that remains
is for you to say the word
the one word
that is somehow different
and open the door