While she ran we set
flares.
Where is she going,
they asked,
running through the streets
and through the air?
I don’t know, I said,
but I’ll light the way.
I’ll keep the wild beasts
from her path.
I’ll bridge the streams
with fairy tales, and keep those
who would interfere at bay.
Then when she tires
and falls asleep, I’ll light
a fire to warm her feet.
And when she wakes to run
once more, from whom,
to where, we do not know,
I’ll still be there.
I’ll run beside her
in the sun or snow,
until she ambles to a walk
or crosses over into hell.