"Ascension" by Giovanni Dania

Ascension

My former self, rest in peace,
O loving one, rest in peace,
The cold heart aborns, the feeling soul dies,
Tears become ice.
My former being, rest in peace,
O foolish former being, rest in peace,
This heart of stone will love no more,
The nightmare ends.
Descending sevenths, upside-down crosses,
Dysentery in the drinking water supply,
Rusty nails, burning coffins,
A single blood stain on a summer dress.
Beyond the less-traveled road,
The hope of never having to feel hope anymore.
The polished heart can stop time:
Like a flat tire on the Chariot of the Sun.
My erstwhile cherished, rest in peace,
A memory of my once-beloved, rest in peace,
What you once symbolized is dead to me,
A fleeting glimpse of loneliness and desperation:
I was a fool to have ever loved you,-
I will not err again.
A burning playpen, tattooed ankh,
A magnified virus, a deaf child's laughter,
Greasy foreheads, a perfect blade's serrated edge;
I will love no more.
Beyond the light at the end of a tunnel,
Perfect darkness, an end to emotions.
My melted flesh, my ashen bones, rest in peace,
O good friend, o lost puppy, rest in peace,
The naïve soul is replaced by the chilling heart,-
Tears become ice.

April 24-25, 1998