among their number a man passed
he had touched the face of God
a preacherman anointed the body with holy water
and gave up incantations to the heavens
a verse from the Holy Qu’ran
a fragment of the Pentateuch
and the last page of the Gospel of Saint Mark
the journeymen burned his body and decorated the heavens
with his bones and sprinkled his ashes
still glowing as embers across the sky
in a brilliancy of autumn hues
for to make the sun grow jealous of his 13 moons
they lit a small blue fire of Zoroaster
their reasoning to keep them warm
and huddled together under a carpet of stars
they drew that carpet over them
and in the morning they drank the melted snow for nourishment
and knew not why God had put their journey this way
and not some other way
as if a stream of grieving tears
had lost all its powers to move them
or even remember their blessed friend on his strange and unknown destiny
Flynnpoetry 