To Lightning and the Sun

I feel the thunder break beneath my feet.
I am one floor up, I hear
The sigh of rain upon streets taut with heat;
This blanket-smothered night forgets to sleep.

And...

Whispering upon the feet of fire she rides laughing into the night,
Her red-black hair is loosened to the wild wind,
Her ecstasy in a long, white body
Is the sun.

Maybe she can trace time by lightning tricks.
I push back sobs, knowing I
Half-hear frenzied murmurs of the night
And, yes, the thunder following the fire.

I-hear-her-ears-she-watches-light-dance-the-thunder-knows-bell-tolls-still-hear-I-tick-tick-clocking-friend-there's-hours-minutes-seconds-left-for-sleeping.

I heard her fall and saw the laugh you gave;
Her hair was spread in arcs of gleaming bronze,
Her end was sudden and her head was smashed.
Despite yourself you know I can't forget you.

And, in the dreadful silence of new hours,
I feel the early rise of heat and babbling.