I do not know,
only that the panther
stalking me from the mountains
is here in all his darkness.

My path jagged with rocks
is fire under my feet.

There is no shelter,
only vines for my throat,
branches for my face,
thorns for my skin.

I do not know how I arrived,
only that I trusted too much
the weight of gold,
safety of numbers,
advice of strangers.

Whose woods these are
I do not know,
only that the panther
stalking me from the mountains
is here in all his darkness.

My path jagged with rocks
is fire under my feet.

Trees have closed the way behind me
and I am the shadow of a man
in a valley of wolves and lions.

This poem first appeared in Issue 2 (Feb. 2008) of Cha