A Moment Before Death

A place

the taste of bread,

the taste of wine,

a body broken, a life betrayed

on bloodstained wooden beams of Judah -

lifted high in gold

today

we remember

---

A time.

to listen to the choir of cognizance,

to listen to the fireflies,

reciting poems to the moon gods

bathed in opalescent light,

a work of fiction - the universal genre,

this night -

tonight -

she remembers

---

A man.

the touch of desire,

the touch of Now,

(presently living, presently dying)

the hourglass spins its toxic silk,

long after the halcyon prison has cracked and failed

to contain the sandstorms of history -

gestern -

he remembers

---

A destiny.

a glimpse of Eden,

a glance towards Hades -

arms locked tight, grins spread wide

they give their final bows to

raucous applause from Salt Lake

to Rome

(past to present, I've lied but once)

I remember.