Beneath The Southern Cross

Beneath The Southern Cross
Patti Smith

Oh
To be
Not anyone
Gone
This maze of being
Skin

Oh
To cry
Not any cry
So mournful that
The dove just laughs
The steadfast gasps

Oh
To owe
Not anyone
Nothing
To be
Not here
But here
Forsaking
Equatorial bliss
Who walked through
The callow mist
Dressed in scraps
Who walked
The curve of the world

Whose bone scraped
Whose flesh unfurled
Who grieves not
Anyone gone
To greet lame
The inspired sky
Amazed to stumble
Where gods get lost
Beneath
The southern cross

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