Rory Hudson - A Fever

Suddenly in summer on a dusty path
a fever takes me, and I see your face
again in the sweltering heat of blue-draped mountains;
or under smoky skies that clutch my throat
you smile once more, I struggle to press on:
choking, I seek your shadow among the trees that burn,
that blaze infernal in consuming tongues of fire,
that crash in blackened ruin all around.

What does it matter if I live or die?
red and black, red and black are the colours of my true love’s eyes,
wild are her features, seared and branded with the flame;
burned and broken on the landscape lie the letters of her name.

Come, burn away my body, let me dance with a mad joy
on the devastated gardens, in the fire that will destroy.

Rory Hudson

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-fever-2/