After Sade

I met him at a crossroad
a confident man
a sovereign
his smile a wreck
but not for him.

And nature?

I said to myself
this man is you
not a man -
this made him smile.

And the gallow?

I said: after Sade?
But I could hear no bomb.

Then he pointed this way.
Then he pointed that way.
Bird-child. Early death.
Chain-ghost. Early death.

Then he smiled: went away
even though he took possession of my heart.

At a cross-road one is alone.
And becoming is law. It is tyrnany.
And hesitation is sure-death and lines.
And walking is unheard of.