realization in lightning
striding through desolate hills
burnt landscapes emerge
gurgling creeks white with ash
flowing through this forest
of blackened trees
and darkness again ...
rain soaking my body
this weight, of the water
sinking me into the earth
staggering now, here
another flash of light
a sparrow on the ground
broken wing
blood washing away in a stream
of brilliant red on brown
in the light of the storm's
cold malevolence.