Pain Covers my Fears

by James G. Piatt
(Santa Ynez, CA)

Ashen tipped clouds slowly
Climbing,
Climbing,
Climbing
Over snow covered
Rocky peaks like a
Soft furry Ibex
Bounding
From crag to crag:
Deep glades,
Pockets of anguish,
Hiding inside the
Snowy whiteness,
Like ancient
Thoughts
Which, can only be
Reached by lonely
Twisted patchwork
Paths,
In the lobes of my brain,
Like an
Ancient quilt
Woven of sorrowful memories,
Leads to
Mountains,
Where bristly brown
Pine cones,
The prickly husks
Of my consciousness,
Cover the earth, and
Where their barbs
Of pain
Cover
My
Worldly fears.