So now I know you, but you never knew me;
Though you may think you do – I recline
By the shore of this oasis in the midst
Of this deadly desert in perfect
Peace of knowing now I have no
Control. When years ago this thought
Would have sent me scurrying out
In the hovering heat of the noon hour
Or in the cloaking coldness of nightfall
To search for that next unattainable
Mirage, it now causes me only to
Turn on my side and glory in once
Again the sight that fulfills my watching
Gaze, knowing now I am never
Alone. So, you may ask, with what
In your high posturing do you fill
Your growing hunger with now – Is the
Source of the spring so full of food
You never have need for new nourishment?
I, hearing your question wave by in the
Wind driven by a solar power striking
The waking sand, simply smile and shake
My head knowing my thoughts but not
Revealing them now. Take your inquiry and
Start off in your own direction for such
Has been your choice even from the
Beginning – though too late was my dreary
Discovery of the nature of your intimate intent.
I live by the secret knowledge of
Gentle surprise hidden within each
And every lapping wave washing out
On this stretching sand. I do believe.
Whoso list to hunt… I know her hidden haunt –
She travels under a closed canopy of
Branches intertwined, stretching from trunk
To tree. She breathes the stagnant air
And believes in her shadowy shelter
While she circles round the wood thinking
All the while she is traveling upon new
Ground. Dare not to trap her fragile
Form; let her run her course. Some
Things are worth letting go. I’ve lived
Deep within the crowded forest and have
Breathed the heavy air. My legs would wade
Through mud whenever I walked about
To stretch them, waking them from their
Sleepy state, shaking out the hornet’s strings
That stapled under my skin. When pushed I
Struggled forward to fall off the cliff
And sail in the sea of air and discovered
The forest, full of trees, stilted upon the
Still summit of a single mountain. And when
At last I alit on solid earth I looked
Above and found a canopy of stars shining
Bright bits of shower through my skin
Welcoming me home. I am not alone;
I am merely between one ghost or
Another – traveling companions. The forest
Not forgotten lingers on the left edge of
Fading visions instilled in a distant
Unfamiliar past presence. Seeking shelter,
Challenging fear and thunder, I wonder aloud
Which way will blow me breeze of breath when
Morning finally beckons. I still believe.
My new home rings with sparkling rain and
Weathers well the warmth of rising sun
Left above by a careless charioteer. The inconstant
Sun, which wears its heavy crown to signify
Its dominance of day, hangs hollow longing,
Like me, for shadows and seeks to spell its own –
But still, across this open plain, lies a distorted
Image of my standing form – too similar still
To the shadows of the mountained forest, not real
Enough to match the energy of this electrically
Charged, ever flowing breeze. I let her arms
Sweep around me and hold me quietly as
Together we wait for our living shadows to return
In our midnight sightings. We wait not long, for
The strings that stay the sun in the sky let slowly slip
Their awesome grip and let their ward away. Adieu
O Soldier – sun of sky; Adieu dear comrade,
You who have lightened my eye may now find
Your rest in late night hours – May your dreams
Be truly pleasant as mine. A desert oasis,
A wooded cliff, a meadow of solar drama
Set these simple pictures of presence and
Separate us from our certainty. I have tasted
The fear that keeps us from freeing ourselves
From the forest and digested the bitter
Herb that leaves us too long a recluse at
The oasis’ pool in internal contemplations – For
Now, I choose to rest in the meadow and
Feed on the growing grain about me, ever looking for
A new lay of land on which to set firmly my
Feet and experience a new breath of air. I must believe.
-Dakin 8/20/95
