Upon My Release

"I would walk
I would walk
in a straight line
as I could find,
or as jagged and winding as any
West Coast trail. I would walk
hungry and forget
all the sad dead food,
leave it behind,
farther and farther behind.
I would walk through the trees,
through walls, through water and sand,
and when my shoes fell apart
my bare feet would walk on
and bleed and heal; and I would walk
empty long roads of gravel and crows
and big silent clouds, singing,
singing every song that ever
crept in my ear,
and when the songs ran out
I'd make new ones. I would walk;
as long as the road never met
I would walk, and sleep
facing the sky; rain
would wash me clean,
wash the gray from my soul.
I would walk towards the sun
towards the moon,
towards the ocean,
my shadow behind me,
walking. And when the stars
started to fall
(as they say they will)
the mountains and rocks
all the wormwood and bowls of plague;
when the wolf sings the pillars down
and all fails to fit,

    I would walk."