Burning Horizon

Sky is turned grey
Banishing the black
And so appears the first ray
Sending the stars back
But the sun does not shine
On a single river or pine
No, just a forever wasteland
Endless expanse of dusty-dry sand

And from a cold mountain cave appears
A young girl, small for her years
She sits at the very edge
Of the miles-high ledge

The sun climbs higher,
Into the sky devoid of ozone
Skeletal bushes around her
Begin to simmer with fire
She stares at the beauty
Of the great golden orb
It’s the last things she’ll ever see,
As her life the heat begins to absorb

The great flaming sphere
Continues up into the sky
Shining on a surface world clear
Of any life or reasons why
Anyone who caught
A glimpse of the great sun
Anyone who saw the beauty
Would be a lucky one

The heat of the sun would burn you dead
There is no longer an atmosphere
To keep its harmful rays
From coming near

Her skin’s breaking out
In heavy sweat
As she gazes at celestial being
Of bedtime lore
And as she stands there
She does not regret
Her curiosity that burned her
Into no more

The sun climbs higher
Into the sky devoid of ozone
Skeletal bushes around her
Begin to simmer with fire
She stares at the beauty
Of the great golden orb
It’s the last things she’ll ever see,
As her life the heat begins to absorb