| There we were-all of us sitting around the fire, talking, laughing, drinking wine, smoking, thinking about life- |
| each of us- a Universe of our own all of our worlds suspended for a while while we lived in a moment too fragile to touch too real to question |
Turned-
to the West I rose and
turned
to the East Everyone stood and
turned from our
circle We stepped into shadows to find the worlds we thought we wanted we danced through darkness and moonlight through deserts and sunlight through cities and lamplight through mountains and starlight across oceans and fire light through garbage and candle light But- every once in a while one or more of us lost interest in the dance No, this game wasn’t enough too many dreams had died we stumbled back to our circle, fanned the embers relit the fires we met in twos and threes and almost remembered who we’d been and where we’d started- we talked and dreamed and caught a new idea, a vision- Then, with our New Vision, unspoken we found new strength and fed each other on our bright new enthusiasm as we cried each other’s tears over what we’d lost and we usually agreed there wasn’t enough – out there to hold our attention for long but then again we kept on getting back up on our feet and danced back into the shadows perhaps I stayed away the longest perhaps I danced the farthest from that light that always called us back together perhaps I watched my dreams too often go up in smoke too soon- – I learned to hold on -maybe much too tight- ly to each second I spent in your company- -with any one of us I’d accidentally learned to recognize- -in chance meetings in the strangest places where and when our dancing brought us face to face with anyone we thought we -knew from somewhere- like the free and easy celebration of spring where somebody who knew somebody let a friend tag along and I’d barely seen her when my heart wanted to soar to leap with joy at the idea that she was actually in the same world with me- but then, some guy I probably would have liked came back from somewhere, and put his arm around her shoulder and grinned at me as if to say -look all you want -she’s mine tonight and I wondered why I wanted to tear his heart out on the spot and me, I- tripped over something in the dark and rolled to my knees in some strangely lighted fog I stumbled and called and whimpered and screamed I stood up and listened and walked against the wind and maybe blinked once or twice and found myself back here where we started I looked around, there was no one here- I struck a match and lit a lantern and sat down and waited -You’re the one -I came closest to- -most often stumbling back home, in your own trajectory – you looked a bit like maybe you were almost ready to join me and I thought about us all I remembered every shadow every light, every flicker of joy- every mountain every pit every dancer every sanctuary and I felt every dancer dancing through me turning and leaping stepping and falling phantoms in a shadow land everyone a little sick of spiraling so far out Everyone a little closer to knowing what we’d gone off to learn -That everything we really wanted we’d all had to begin with so long ago with each other I closed my eyes and felt a restless tide swelling through our empty spaces washing all the lands we’d ever visited I saw the restless thoughts of every dreaming phantom falling lifeless as the core of our existence refined the hunger we’d been feeling I reached for the light- I felt you- all of you- all of us dancing all of us turning and missing the beat dropping our hands, disgusted one by one returning to the center of our circle where I guess I’m the first one back sitting here with a silly grin waiting to greet you with this universe’s greatest laughter crying, Welcome Home! -Where in hell have you been this time? ——— Jim Wellington
Doug Otterson
draelen
Jim Wellington
Jim