There is no strut but yours–

   no way upon a stage

     can more transfix.

A scream from whose soul outpours

   primal lust and rage;

     and no more potent mix.

Gone in but a flash,

   into the mere thinness of air,

     a lifetime of hard fought fame.

A ceremony of ash,

   burnt in offered prayer,

     consumed to blue in famous flame.

December 25, 2006