hands on fire broken teeth offer it my agony ephemeral relief no escape endless hurt claiming every part of me quenchless thirst please be still please be still no control souls bereft by days end nothing left please be still please be still --------------------------------- by the stream i dream in calm delight, and watch as in a glass, how the clouds like crowds of snowy-hued and white-robed maidens pass, and the water into ripples breaks and sparkles as it spreads, like a host of armored knights with silver helmets on their heads. and i deem the stream an emblem fit of human life may go, for i find a mind may sparkle much and yet but shallows show, and a soul may glow with myriad lights and wondrous mysteries, when it only lies a dormant thing and mirrors what it sees.