The Time Passes

There before me I see

The evidence of a moment of

History now covered in the mist

Of an hourglass whose sand ran

Its course many, many years ago.

And yet, the memory remains, a

Swirling silvery-white substance,

As it were.  And the screen holding

This image stands as my gateway

Into a realm of rememberances,

Unchanging in my sight.

I do remember.

 

And as I look, there is a song

That echoes in my thoughts,

Although I can’t quite catch the lyric

Or the melody – some half-formed

Delicate whisper that tugs at

My ears like the wayward waft

Of an untraceable, but pleasant, odor

Perhaps of summer flowers or spring rain.

And as I sit and listen, a smile

Creases these lips of mine and I

Feel my breathing slow while

A warmth of a lived yesteryear

Enfolds me like a wool blanket

Sheltering me from winter’s depths.

And now I can’t help but laugh

Out loud at myself as I

Notice my neck tilting to try

And capture more completely that

Voice inside my head, a physical

Manifestation of my vain attempt

To tap into metaphor.

And so I have one answer

To a question of long ago, but as with

So many answers, I now find

I have but more questions.

 

-Dakin 8/7/08

The Past of Tomorrow

Condemned before my life began,

Does fate rule on, mercilessly?

Or shall it forgive,

For never does a candle grow

From its flame?

But it’s not the same in life.

So where are we

If we do not reside in the fruitful oasis,

If all the charm has changed

To be lost, a pebble

Under the desert sand, disguised,

Draped over by the forceful touch

of invisible fingers of wind?

 

Carried on I leave my life

Where once I sat

And would not budge even for a care.

But those who have carried me,

Being burdened, have

Issued a challenge to stand

and face the formless

Future in faith.

And I, left to my own

Fresh frenzy crawl along the trail.

It’s mine to blaze, by some I’m told

while others disagree;

They point down to the trodden earth

And lift my eyes to see.

Their visions, fit for them,

Do not belong to me.

 

What does it mean

To face tomorrow’s past,

To challenge heartache

and fight the sorrow,

To learn to live inside today?

Fathom echoes forward founding,

Remove the candle of yesterday

That drains the fear

from life’s long dream.

Deserted, left to each

their own, is that where we are?

Look around you; see that

all believing is a process of

Wanting, waiting where

We reach to drink the nectar

Of the gods.  Why should

We want when we have

All we need,

You and I,

Each other.

 

-Dakin (Fall 1992)

The Wind (take II)

  In the midst of the night

  When the bright full moon

  Turns pink the puffy clouds

  And the pale patches

  of royal blue peek

  about their soft, round edges

I whisper aloud

  And cause the chimes

  to sing for me

  my unrehearsed song

I slither about the bough

  and leaf of newly

  budded trees and

  breathe my sorrow’s sigh

I blow my kiss through open fields

  and gallop across the hills

  the grasses slip between my toes

  and murmur a lullaby

I disturb the siding of your homes

  suggesting it’s unsafe

  to brave the elements of outdoors

  and walk in my embrace

I push the clouds on silver edge

  to soar across the land

  and see

  that by my hand the flag poles

  clang and rattle their banner cry

I breeze along in silent step

  but conjure a thousand sounds

  And all the while this serenade

      serves to deafen

          my lonely howl

 

-Dakin (Undated pre-1993)

Untold Charlatans

Somewhere there is something better,

Once you wrote to me

And exclaimed the virtue of our love.

But so seemingly sudden came

that horrid note of disaffection

(The fact that it was a sonnet

didn’t dull the damnable words).

So I ask you now,

I’ve been through it all before

And remember – I’m older than you

And the knife still pierces

Maybe even deeper

But damn it all,

I want to know

Is there something somewhere,

Something better,

Or was it all empty, hollow

Spite-filled words

Meant to mock my mind

Like the killer phrase

You uttered one new year’s eve

in time’s square.

I swear I’ll never die

Because now I have a purpose

To prove you true or false

Like some perverted version

of a child’s name game

In which waving wands

Won’t make the bitter root dissolve.

So tell me now

While you still have the chance,

My attention won’t long last,

But I really want to know –

Is there somewhere something better?

Or was it a wistful line

Because I can’t fulfill this

Prophecy

And I’m running out of time.

 

-Dakin (Undated pre-1993)

Inspired Insomnia

Forever lying wide awake

With hours slipping by,

Bereft from loss of sleep and dreams

Feel the grip of time –

An exodus of mind and will

The journey falls away

To visions of our living past

And years of yesterdays.

Alive and yet too far to reach

The memories promote

Darkest secrets in a man

As well as light of hope.

To the highest mountain peak

Is where the trail does wind –

Held atop the pinnacle

By unrelenting vines,

These obstacles shall keep us all

From ever traveling back.

So we must continue on

Making up for what we lack

In holding tight to what we know

Through lessons we have learned;

The only way that we have found

To facilitate return.

 

-Dakin (Undated pre-1993)