I had a dream last night
I dreamed that my path
Was paved with gold
Overhanging branches
And lush bushes
Had been all trimmed back
My shins no longer scraped
Against the stinging nettle
My ankles no longer rubbed
Over zealous bushes
The twigs and decaying leaves
Had all be scraped away
Leaving me a path devoid
Of all natures beautiful wiles
Maybe it was a nightmare
Shocking me to become aware
Of our battle against
Sweet Mother Earth
But if I never held your hand
How would I know your touch?
But if I never spoke your name
How would I call you to me?
But if I never smelled your essence
How would I find my memories?
But if I never whispered lightly
How would I hear you call?
But if I never watched the sunset
How would I dream of you at night?
But if we never gazed afar
How would we ever smile together?
But if we never danced to slow songs
How would we spend our days?
I center my balance as I reel
Slowly out of peace
While loosely around me clutters
Lost fragments of my memory
I cannot counter distress
That flutters here
Suspended in mid-air
Waiting to attach itself
To unsuspecting passersbys
I, the unsuspected
Shelter my innocence
With umbrellas for the sun
Reflecting glances
Off my glaring receptacles
I know not the distress
Left steaming from blacktop
Covering your deepest desires
Near the corners of your heart
It wasn’t too long ago that I
Wandering through fields waist high
Came upon one friendly blade of grass
That spoke to me in old English decree
Thus like:
Forsooth it is thy jolly Lombard
Erect in flight of recent folly
That doth not retire grand ambition
That doth not spare no damsel plight
Amongst thy gallows of conquered fate
Whence settling down amongst thou bromus
He contemplates his recent fight
And not one hour should pass thy penance
When thou stumblt upon a gift that gave
So lovely displayed be suit noble court
Of kindly and jolly King Edward the IV.
And in this gift so deep a sentiment
Earl Warwick, himself! ere be knelt
The gift to seekers shall be found
Not in man’s work but in mankind
Thou gift is also found upon
Thy brow of revelations crown
And to this joy that I’d now found
While wandering to and then to fro
Reciting, by name, the grass that grew
Here I would learn to love anew
I thought I was picking up a love note
Delicate letters written for her eyes only
Speaking of some fair damosels beauty
With long golden hair so fine
Fairy tales were written with it in mind
Perhaps of her smooth and noble skin
So soft it soothed any sad thoughts away
I thought I was going to read about
Such graceful and elegant fingers
Scarcely seen a day of hard labors toil
Or of the emotions evoked from
Eyes so blue and deep
Philosophers sought them to speak of future
But alas, what I had found
Was a list of odd measurements
Unintelligible and incomprehensible
I had a dog – a great dog to do him right
A dog so valiant he was my brother
A dog so honorable he made me proud
His sticks were always the biggest sticks
That the forest could offer up
Two lengths wide; head held so high
That was the kind of dog my dog was
And when you threw that stick for him
There wasn’t another care in the world
Bounding over logs and through tall grass
Around small trees and through thick brush
I would let him come upstairs
Sit by my feet as I worked away mine toils
Especially with loud thunder
Shaking yonder hills
I can still clearly remember when,
As a young pup, I tried to acclimatize
The tiny dog to a perch on my bed
He grew so fast and at first chance
He jumped from those heights to
More stable grounds below
He made friends with all the other dogs
He was loved by all those who knew him
His heart beat so true none could deny
His kind, gentle demeanor as he prodded on
Hardly a pup could try his strong patience
But let’s not be fooled that when needed
He wouldn’t take much testing
From neighborhood mutts
It is uncountable the amount of times
He would scare away a bear, herd away a moose
Scamper after a fleeting deer through long grass
Or jump at the sound of the resident squirrel
Sending him high in branches of his tree
He would lose himself in the forest tracking a scent
Only to reappear down the trail looking for me
He had his friends that roamed the trail behind the house
The young girl down the road and her witty sled dog
The Germans and their duck dog, oh what a pair those two made!
One that couldn’t stand a loud sound
The other that lived for the sound of a shot!
Or the wolf hound three doors down
And the proud girl with her border collie around the bend
He was a great dog, the dog that I had
When I returned home, his tail would knock
Over anything near, excited yelps uncontrollable
He would always put his nose between your legs
Slowly walking through as you scratched him down
When you got to his tail, his legs would go weak
For it was there that gave him infinite pleasure
I will miss the dog that I once had
A great dog, a brother of mine till the end
I will miss him more than the trails we used to walk
Or the seasons we’d always play
She looked like a lover I used to have
Who wouldn’t let me hold her tight
Though she’d lay naked on my bed
She looked like a lover I used to know
Who would sing a song to my keen heart
Then tell me not to listen to a word
She looked like a lover I used to love
Eyes so wide, figure so heavenly
But she told me not to smile again
She looked like a lover I used to believe
Words weaving dreams and harmony
Till she blew out her last plume of smoke
She looked like a lover I used to praise
Elegant and beauty deep and divine
Then she spoiled my words with one final goodbye
It isn’t that the seasons take away my pleasures I bask in in the summer; running carelessly about the fences and jumping from branch to branch. No.
It isn’t the shade from the sun, nor the darkest of clouds that hover over horizons I see from the top of these branches in this place I call home. No.
It isn’t the infestation of caterpillars that slither their way into every single crevice I’ve ever held dear to me and my family, eating away the lush green leaves that paint the exterior of my home. No.
It isn’t the bears the rummage in my little piles of stores I’ve secured away for winter lengths, nor the beavers that take my home for theirs. No.
It’s that blasted dog that jumps every single time he sees me, barreling away at the highest speeds to bark me all the way up the tree.
But, I suppose that I do provoke him with my constant chattering and taunting…
Röbert can be purchased here.
I have a root to survive
Digging deep;
A watering cloud’s soul mate
A soldier of faith
Upward momentum
Reaching forever more
Touch me as I lose control of my breath
Lower my eyes into the depths of fire
Invite my courage to span this low lit mood
Rumble over my curves like the moon
Encourage my glow to seek thy skin
With an eruption of goosebumps
Curl around my exposed knees
Bend until you’re wrapped so dearly close
Loosely drape sheets about your naked breast
Skirt my attention with tangles of your hair
Blow upon my fingers as you read about their days
Measure out the distance to the embers of my heart
Icy cold hands make your heart flutter flutter
Sip upon the brow of this thickly layered elixir
Put between your lips the essence from a kiss