I Wonder at the Effectiveness of Streetlights

I wonder at the effectiveness of streetlights
Wonder at the brief illumination of darkness
At the waxing and waning of the outer limits
The line that fades, hazy to the eyes
And swift in warfare upon the senses
Able to reverse the density of the years
The angry impotence of passing time
The rugged opaqueness of past lives
The olfactory magnetism of canyon winds
And that ball and chain of personal history
Spitefully returning with the rising sun

I wonder at the cold promise of insulation
Wonder at the ineffectiveness of a woman's arms
At the broken and beaten myth of love
The woman that saunters, noxious to the mind
And with the cold consistency of a stranger
Able to dissect with tools of dissension
The ephemeral empathy of my mind
The perennial restlessness of my spirit
The consequential promise of hope
And the congested nature of my heart
That clears all too quickly with the setting sun

I wonder at the course of molten rivers
Wonder at the carving strength of least resistance
At the inevitable paths of wandering soles
The years that fade, hazy to the mind
And quick to compound upon the human frame
Able to revolt against the frailty of contentment
The directness of apparent facts
The precedent of successful cousins
The aspirations of illusory films
And the insistent images of dreams
Infectiously haunting in the transient night