They built the pyres high
as if height could cleanse
what depth could not
a tower of bodies
names scratched into bones
sins devoured in flames
they said it was for purification
of the ones who wept too much
bled the wrong way
dreamed too vividly
the flames learned, grew hungry
remembered the silence of stars
the heartbeat of forests
and every so called, abomination
they cast into the pit
rose again in shrieking embers
eyes shadowed in smoke
wings beating in the fire
a cathedral of stolen souls
the sky breaking open
as we seek our release
for we were always fire
and the wind takes our ashes
seeds the earth with something new
something unspeakable
and unholy in its horror
© Ann Bagnall
Annie's Poetry 