The long walk home

the animals cry and sob from the space between the headlights and
space
the streetlights flicker in my confused vision, but my hand is being held and i have no primal fear
only a slowly beating heart that tells me you are here
so i will keep walking and not think
of what waits for me off the beaten path
in the bushes and the shadows

a smell of incense floats through my brain
tinting my vision and perception
will you love me when you're dusting, spinning through the summer air?
will you love me even then?
will you not abandon me when you're molecules and elements
recharging the universe?

i believe my home is in the sky
i will be lifted high, past the jungle i am tangled in
i clench my fists and rock on my heels, 'i will not not die, i will not die'
my ghost is mine and mine alone, not for yours and theirs to own

i will find my way among the rocks and stones and move beyond their grabbing dragging down
between and past the maps that only show the shadows in this endless town