Outstairs

I took a stroll beyond the Lands of Time
	climbed that infinite Outer Stair
and swam the waters of the Sun
	shed that precious Tear of Gold
	a flare fallen in the Hollow of an Ear
and enrapt, watched the Rose unfold
	into a flake of Snow so crystal clear
Beyond Sorrow's wretched lair
	I kissed Shantih's sunset lips
birthed that serpentine design
	so that Archimedes might burn ships
	and mere men divine
With sacred meter treasured angles perverse
	and cold forged in nemo caligine
surveyed great shattered Trees
	and civilizations brought to knees
under skies fires paved
	whether by atomic desire
	atmospheric lie
	or cold machination of foreign mind
I bore souls from the grave
	(only a fraction man's kind)
	whose lofty goals and glaring dreams
	at my feet, forlorn they layed
I've studied End Worlds and Lords Misrule
timid, never bold – gentle, never rigid
in star bereft courts – Shiva'd
before dispassionate Dukes o' Cold
ever frigid – earned that Zero Absolute
with Plank's (in)constancy hollowed
Heisenberg's Truth from Freudian flies

Originally written around January 16, 2023.