Flight

A wind flares the flame,
A gust leaves it cold.
The fire hisses out in the water
That waits to drown her.
A rustling of leaves warns her
Of escape, of life being lived.
She, reading the signs wades,
Through the treachery,
and swims.

The shore has thorns that prick
And rest unclean, drenched in blood.
The trees tower over her
And sway in welcome.
A bird in the distant skies
calls out her name in a song,
That she sings back, and silences the woods,
Only to go on.

The end of the cliff, beneath
her tender feet, is still.
The wind starts up the fire
Again, and with smoke
The skies crowd.
She leaps across to
Infinity that lies in the abyss.
The wind howls, the bird shrieks,
The land quivers at the edge.
The treachery still waits to drown her,
And instead, receives her parting kiss.