Escape
I’m dreaming of a little place
in tall trees
lit by sunshine and snow
and golden aspen light
a place so flush with water
it bubbles out of the ground
and you can float on a pond
when you need to let go
I’m dreaming of a small space
with not too much to burn
that heats up quick
with the strike of a match
I’m dreaming of a break
from ash and scrap
where I can settle my head
deep into down
and dream blue white green dreams
where all breezes are innocent
all sparks kept to the stove
fire dream
I dreamt ashes in our attic
soot on the windowsills
unnoticed for weeks
we’re all wearing ashes
on our foreheads these days
visible or not
the sleeping fox
when the horizon
is too filled with disaster
I train my internal eye
on the image of a sleeping fox
we watched him climb
the hill behind our house
on a day when
most of our world had melted
there in the warm
russet-brown of the pine duff
he circled then curled,
a fiery fluff of warm fur
lit by early spring sunshine
he knew nothing of our worries
and simply slept sound
and I watched in thanks
for the proof of a being
who could still dream
simple safe dreams
limbs loose, mind at ease
Danau Toba Dream
the lake shushes us to sleep
a sweet sloppy sighing lullaby
the whole black-blue basin jiggles
while this big world spins
another dark night streaked with
columns of staccato horizontal
dock- and boat-lines
and the unseen air is as heavy
with smoke and water
as a Varanasi ghat
mimpi indah, Samosir
the tall bed
it feels like coming aboard
stepping up on the high wooden box
then hoisting myself onto
this queen-sized raft of dream
with extra-long pillows
and billowing duvet
a good 4 feet off the floor
we set sail
into the short dark of summer
perforated by starshine
while Homestake’s white wave
curls in the distance
later
rosy mountain sunrise snow
gently announces
it’s another day now
time to disembark
and make those hazy dreams real
