this may be true,
or not;
but i leave man

to heave
such heavy breaths
o’er the desert

as i know their
paltry moans
will presently

mingle with
the wind which
passes over us all:

as for me,
i live by no man’s code…
not even my own!

i be tats-ah-das-ay-go,
the silent killer!
hear the rustle

of my mocassins,
and know this:
soon shall i blanch thy bones!