The Dust That Sunlight Exposes

The dust that sunlight exposes

Falls from eyes

That look at length

At scaly flesh

And wonder

How long I must walk

Down this path

Through the silent woods.

I cannot sit on the stump

With green, wild stems

Pushing through its surface;

I cannot lie down on this

Bed of dead leaves, small twigs,

And dark soil, so

I must keep walking

To know what it is

I want to snatch

From the sunlit air,

Hoping it is not just

The dust of days wearily lived.