I’ve seen dark eyes
Of imminent oblivion,
I’ve felt the warm breath
Of the hounds of death
Breathing against my neck.
And it has been
A long season of recriminations
Since the days of youth
When a woman’s face
Shone like the sun.
But conflagrations of desire
No longer take me higher,
They just incinerate
My ardent dreams,
Strangle me in ropes
Of despondency.
My wounded mind
Hallucinates possibilities,
Then slides into
A darkening drift
Of pessimism,
An avalanche of fear.
All thoughts explode,
Fulminations of failure,
Tirades of defeat,
A heartbreaking wail
For a life incomplete.
In desperate times,
I know I need
A near-death experience
To receive an epiphany,
A glimpse into eternity.
If there are
Flowery fields
Of love and hope,
I need to find
Those precious blooms
Before I close my eyes
To a final sunset.