Fire signs and watermarks

Each one leaves a sign

of their passing

an indent on the flesh

an echo in the doorway

creases in the sheets

of your soul

pillow scriptures

ancient texts

of tenderness and trouble

red passion and

blue ruin

each one etches their

name on the parchment

of your mind

fire signs and watermarks

hieroglyphs of the heart

we are all so beautifully

stained

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originally published in Bellowing Ark Vol. 25 Number 4 — 2009