If Death Came in the Alps

If death came in the Alps I wouldn’t complain

Inter me on the silver road

The parking is free

And from beneath a slab of glass I’ll watch

Snowy atoms of fire descend all day

And every evening the dark ascent of night

There I will dream of quietness

            And I will drift alone into the wilderness

The tyranny of the human face will lift like a fog

No more listening to sloppy talk

And what must still be done will never come

When I leave it all behind

Like a bird flying straight into the sun

The lunatics were asking about you
            They wished you were still here

                        The silence of infinite space was my reply

Some things are deeper than snow

            Although right now I can’t think of any
The inviolable blue of my hands and face
            Will be for distant stars to contemplate
 And I will coolly gaze on passers-by
                         Marching into the flames of history