If I ever smoked I would have been smoking then… Sitting on the curb, Newly scuffed Fry boots Resting on the pavement seam Where the asphalt didn’t quiet cover the Parquetted bricks. Where there cobbles below? Helixes of tobacco smoke drifting Skyward Not so sacredly. And later the glowing butt Gently burns the fingertips. At the distant corner Mongrels cross sniffing in the gutter. I raise my head and offer a dry whistle As they scurry just ahead of a Streetcar sparking to a stop. I reel back my reality Just a bit And count the bills folded and tucked Into the cellophane of the pack of smokes; Three dollars And three fags left Between now and the Denver dawn.
I am thinking that someday You will find your way To my way of thinking. I understand you are thinking the same for me? Perhaps someday we will meet In that pleasant morning meadow That lies somewhere in between?
The squirrels are working They play so casually and fluid, Trunk to branch to stem Nipping leaves at the twig Loosing green walnuts In a random cascade
to the earth below These green gifts Dropping like flakes and meteors Falling to rise again Passing through space and time, Perhaps a prelude to winter? The unspooling of the seasons, Maybe a kind reminder That these are cherished moments Rich and slow With light still high in the sky, Warm on bare shoulders, No need to shrug and cover, yet. Seeds and nuts are gathered and planted So sensibly and easily They do the right things, So it seems. I wonder what I have planted in the human way: A word, a kindness, a kiss? What have I brought down And then raised up again? I watch and wait And wonder upwards For the messages that are sent.
I have known you since the time of dragons, When you quested after them Brave and barefoot. You were unsullied, elfin A child with an old soul. Some say that dragons are sages And that they offer wisdom for those who seek it Others say that they are evil, devils And so must be confronted and conquered. Perhaps they could be these things… And complicated, they could be more. They are like the choices that we all face So it seems: To learn how to gain wisdom and peace While confronting the devils in our paths. I have faith in you Aidan In your strength, your wit, and your beauty Which will serve you well In these, The time of dragons.
Posts
