Yukon river

A golem's lament

I’m ashamed of this corrosion
the rust in my gears
that came about from standing
out in this icy drizzle
too long. Too stubborn

to drag my sorry, welded ass
inside, too melancholy
to think the mechanical effort
was worth it. And now

here you are, all springing step
and bright sunshine
and I can only
mournfully creak along
behind you.

Rachel Westfall
December 5, 2011

In tandem with Christopher

Techno (1) misfit

Angels aren’t meant
to burn
nor should their feathers
glint of hardened steel.

Madder is wrong here
and ochre, that snaking
strand of sun-fire
that licks your ankles
and draws out poison
like a song.

There is a grey in your eyes
that has
the sheen of an impostor,
a reflection of this sky
gone wrong, the weathered skin
of a long-dead tree
or the sorrow of a forest
bereft of its loam.

Rachel Westfall
December 1, 2011