Growling Dark

So much
of where I have been
nips at my heels
like a hungry hound
who won't let me forget.

Some day,
like this day,
I will be even more
hungry and tired
as I reach into my pack
for some shaft of light--
some morsel I might share
with these ragged bones.

Knowing history,
my scent stronger than ever,
I will be discovered easily--
paws clicking on stones
near me.

At a cautious stop
near the summit
the sack I carry
will be nearly weightless--

only crumbs
and grains of sand 
to carry to the peak
as I follow my own karma
into the growling dark.