I approach the condemned in its stall;
our eyes meet and in that moment
I know its absolute pureness.
A microcosm of all the eternal verities
veers through my veins, thrilled to be
coursing against the blood.
Dormant compassion flows
lava-like from deep and I burn
to engirth this creature,
our integration into a blazing white light;
but then just as quickly my epiphany evaporates
unable to withstand the piston force
engineered within me
magnetized to its stony-hearted steely track
and I doused those flames with inner salt
to sharpen again the necessary blades
that will prolong our bounded journey.
