Phoenix Rising - October 31, 2000
 
As the phoenix rises
beyond the ashes of each life,
it searches
for the reason it returns
to the cycle of living,
striving always to reach
a pinnacle 
that it could not
before.
 
It is the heavy tail-feathers
that give the bird
its beauty,
and the balance for flight.
 
Each rebirth calls for a change,
each flight demands a new ending.
 
Every fiery death
sheds another layer of our past
until we look only forwards.