Lost Cat Dream

In a dream, I walk
Clutching my white cat to me,
Stroking her soft fur

I walk down white steps,
Gazing into her gaze. Eyes
One blue and one green.

The green on the left,
The blue on the right, I seek
To remember this.

Etch that gaze inside,
Remember always, which eye
Is which, this white cat.

I miss her grace so,
Love of my heart, blessed Soul
Sweet one, full of purrs...

"Love you", I whisper
In her ear, nuzzle her head
Soak in her love....

How could I have lost
This sweet Soul, forgotten her,
Not returned for her?

She is so dear! Ah!
The softness of her, the bliss,
The sweet tenderness....

I stroke her warm fur,
I whisper my sweet nothings,
Mean to keep her safe.

The dream moves on. They
Always do. She is not here.
I sketch her two eyes.

I yearn for this cat.
How could I lose her? Again...
I torment myself.

Dreaming, I recite
My tale of loss, how this sweet cat
Was forgotten, lost....

The stranger listens,
Nods her head, sympathizes....
I go on and on.

When I pause, "Meow"
Awakens me. I sit up.
My spotted cat stares.

Samantha awaits,
Hazel eyes gaze, grey white fur.
"Feed me," she emotes.

I try to recall
The white cat with those two eyes
A blue eye, a green....

I remember Star,
All white, but two yellow eyes...
Not forgotten, she....

Who was this dream cat?
With green eye and blue? Who now?
I am at a loss.

But the heart knows, yes.
Only the mind does not know.
I am confounded.

Stare into the dream
Chase the meaning like a wisp
Of cat hair, floating….

In a deep far place,
I think I remember now.
But do I really?

Bemused, I ponder.
Was this cat Puff, Star’s grand sire,
Fur like a lamb’s?

All I know is that
This white cat lives elsewhere now,
A green meadow place.

This Green Forest Here

His mother chokes... Grapes..
Beware the skins! In age,
Lurk many changes.

"Can... we... go now?" she
Rasps, hoarsely, as if movement
Heals stasis, heals all.

My mother would choke
Yet still reach for her dinner.
Old habits die hard.

Momma's beyond now.
In dreams, she is quiet, just
Like brother Richard.

Families... lifetime
To lifetime, how long does this
Process continue?

Momma filled her home
With Chinese art, a lifetime
I too remember.

So many enslaved,
Momma, Poppa, thousands more
Down in the valley.

I and others fought
To free them. Later, freed, they
Walked the long road home.

"You can write poems
Anytime," says he, just like
Momma said to me.

"Look at this!" He points
To fields whizzing by. I lost
Much work by waiting.

Now I write when time
Pauses on life's river here.
Unfurl like ivy.

Reach out, reach up, stretch,
Lift my tendrils to the sun,
Breathe in air, rain, sky.

Hold on, let go, glide.
Life is an amazing leap
In this green forest.

Danube Dreams

She dreams Danube dreams
in a cruise ship, gazing out.
Never been, wants to go

Who says what may be?
Ideas come and go like clouds
Or river ripples

Blessing is each day
Expand the dream, go forth, see...
To stay is to die

To deny a dream kills
Like taking air from children.
We are all children

Now to decide....Danube?
Elsewhere? Now? Next year? Sweet dreams,
Possibilities...

On a map mark it,
Spots you want to go. Dream them.
Travel in or out

Many ways to go.
In dreams, on ships, in deep books...
The quest begins now...

See that cloud above?
See that ripple in the bay?
Someday, I'll be there.

July 20, 2010

Life in Slow Motion: Look, See, Sleep

Into a still pond
I float, grateful for thin air.
Leaves eddy by me.

It wasn't the flu.
Who knew? But Lord Pneumonia
Gracing me with pause.

Dream cough syrup
Dreams, wild visions that meander
Like river currents.

Waking, I gather
Memory, like twigs and moss
From the water's edge.

Fashion a land quilt
To remember my dreams by,
Pull it close for warmth.

Step out into Sun,
Taking out the garbage now;
Water the wilted kale.

May 6, 2010