i quail to think of the year past

when days i spent i thought would last

and helpless i clung fast

to what now has crumbled all to dust

     amidst the ashes i hoped to see rise

     a phoenix, ah! lost dreams and sighs

     escaped me, the forlorn hiss

     of a flame in its demise

times i have spent in solitary musing

moments passing, echoes rising

from emptier than empty caverns, cursing

the endless void, silence growing

     slow, a form takes shape amidst ashes

     foundation of unvoiced dreams and wishes

     an undefinable haze form approaches

     taking wing, the phoenix rises