Fearing the disorientation of landing in a thicket of unknown space
I've been passing away time in its quiet, almost unsettling phase
The air grows warmer in the falling of summer's day, in this place
The leaflet-like tattered cloth floating past burnt branches entwined
Walking upon enchanted pathways where strange sand is lined
The glow of a lantern emits from where I cannot tell, in this realm
I would probably feel lonely but enchantment overtakes that one part
And the other lies underfoot when the cries spring from the heart
Then I hang on for fear I'll lose the spell, and find I was somewhere else
The sky echoes with a promise that has fallen silent, it soared with a sigh
Holding a sense of frozen answers in a burning question, forming on nigh
Slightly rung bells but of whole songs, receive no mention, on low or high
Ripples sailing pass banks of orchid and paradise bloom round bridges low
Away from what eyes can see, the view alters languid solar rays dim and slow
The sunken blaze as shadows spring forth in a soft gloom, the realm will show
Twine crafted around living tree, the treasure of silver light and emerald leaf
The legend of the golden wood is remembered past all this world's belief
Peacefully, easily, hidden fountain and blanket of dark, beams long and brief
Although a thousand years may have come and gone by without a change
Stones shimmer colors of glowing skies, I've passed by unseen in the strange
I tried to hide beneath the glowing sparks of blue light, just out of range
Each second seems not at all like the timing I remember, in short breaths
In one moment time drags on, beyond any counting, then drifts and rests
I lie awake at the splendor of the endless hour and how much it forgets
The clouds hang low beneath winds through flags but they're hard to reach
And the symbols of the windswept cloth bear only stars and one mark each
A mark of fire that burned patches of black holes, leading to alternate beach
Corners turn into long, twisting roads, sometimes just above rocky slopes
And walking seems like flying in uncertain steps over a ground that erodes
Repeating the now and then as it settles throughout all of realm's abodes
And if loneliness and fulfillment embrace the heart, feeling almost the same
There never seems to be any recollected history that ancient ones claim
Firelight emits where it may compel, in rare moments beyond this realm
Darker sides lie underfoot, forgetfulness and mystified become one in part
And all of one part, endearing and wondrous never hidden from your heart
All of it magical, how it compels, 'tween enchantment and dread, how do I
go somewhere else?
©Iggy 1998
