As I Leave the World Behind

Alone within
an empty room,
so quiet
it's a wooden tomb,

I watch the fire
flicker gold
against the outside's
swirling cold.

There's frosted lace
on my windowsill,
a pane of splintered,
lovely chill,

and shadows dance
upon my walls
to bring the snow
that gently falls.

Within the flames,
there's something more--
an arching, cracking,
breath-burned door.

A labyrinth
beyond the fire,
where gods and earth
and man conspire,

filled with dreams
and forgotten things,
winding round
in endless rings,

cast dark on this
midwinter night,
yet thrumming
with a drifting light,

a glow that wanders
down a narrow trail
of stone and moss
in this strange vale.

Painted in
forgotten strokes
of bardic myth
and ancient smokes,

this labyrinth
draws me ever in
as I feel flames
caress my skin

and whispers fill
my burning mind
as I slowly
leave the world behind.