For Robin…

Untold charlatans on either side

Speak soft whispers in my ears.

Long I listened to their cunning calls

And cried to be their child,

Deceived by disguises,

Won by wild words

and imaginary ideologies –

Mesmerized by swaying serpent eyes,

Left in the cold alone,

Or so I thought.

The stuttered cacophony
Still deafened my ears

to the heart filled smile of you.

Persistent you were

“I’ll not let you drown…”

Never did you give up on me.

You spoke once again

And finally I heard

The pleas of friendship and truth.

“Aren’t we all winners…”

You sang to me

And pulled me away from my misery.

“Come on…”

You said and pushed me along,

“Let’s go slay some dragons…”

 

-Dakin (Undated pre-1993)

Sonnet 1

I wait for each day that my eyes can look

Upon the smile that you send my way,

And as if with some invisible hook,

You capture my heart; with you it will stay.

I search for the words that to you I may

Relate how I feel, but no words come near.

And like Romeo long ago, I say:

“Ah, but thou love me, let them find me here.”

But if now I open my heart, I fear

How you might react when these words I speak.

I pray you listen; my song is sincere.

These feelings I’ve found for you are unique.

            As Montague dreams of Miss Capulet,

            So are my dreams filled with you Juliet.

 

-Dakin (Spring 1992)

Three By One

Clouds chase the cowardly wind
To the steps of Jehovah’s palace,
A place far beyond imaginary reachings
That leases the crying comfort
To one cradled so small, impatient
Until the honored halo hands her
Care to create a soul impassive
To the weather-beaten world.
We spin together, above the black hole of
Eternity circled by a ring of
Stars – cave drawings fastened
Far and wide around this fragile
Permanent planetarium placed here
Like this mobile that hovers
Above my quiet resting place.
A place expanding, holding
At bay the exterior elements that
Excite and entertain while luring
An innocent soul to self-suffering.
We return to the mountain
And lie within caves that calm our fears.
Yet, despite all the years, we
Learn nothing more than that which she
Knew well in advance while we
Tripped on, ignoring the prophetic
Calls from one we believed lived
Well out, away in the wilderness.
Shall we be surprised, then, when
We find the rivers that run from
Eyes that so often flowed
From our misplaced anger
When we bit at the wrong bait,
Now shed their currents in concern
And compassion while we weep beside
For our own misspent fortunes?
For the smile that sends us forth
Belies the knotted rope – inside,
Which we foolishly believed hung
Fast about our throats.
So hold fast, as I bless
The breathing being that
Stood with sandals stuck in cement
To guide our free form frenzy
Toward a waiting mansion
Whose candles burn bright in windows,
Leading us through the mist of heaven
From one home to another.

-Dakin (Undated pre-1993)

A Chilling Frost

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,

That senses what has now begun to be

From shadows of the past placed prominent

Within our present sight. And building blocks

Are set to reinforce perceptions that

We wish would ceases to stain our nation’s mind

Of all that drowns so darkly in a soul.

Some thing there is that boils, as we know,

For must it overflow the kettle’s lip

As on the fire steeps the racial war

Drawn up in rooms that fuel the fury far

Across our land by nightly aired reports?

And wear your star upon your belly bright

While others hide the shame of social blight,

And one for one is all our nation cries

While one for all has disappeared, replaced

Instead in selfish echoing of pride.

A verdict found in judgment steeped in blood

Is not sufficient to excuse this wall;

For stone upon another stands along

This vast expanse of desert where we crawl

Alone so far. For miles does it stretch

Dividing home from equal under law.

Something there is that does not love a wall –

A wish for elves to lead us to the truth

United as a nation shall we stand,

Or will division deal to us our fall?

Now walk beside recapturing what’s lost

If you can find the trust to share this farm –

I know what’s lost; I feel your broken heart.

I’ve seen the anger rise through embers fanned

By white-washed promises in shadows low,

In back room deals left frozen on this stone.

I speak not for a race, but for myself,

And plead your patience with my stuttering –

Good neighbors – This I pledge to you my friend

And on this fence I’ll share with you a cry –

For it is not the wall that we must mend,

But peace of heart and peacefulness of mind.

-Dakin 2/25/96