TO A FRIEND
~ 1 ~
He rides passed the dark fences of old cattle yards,
Into the light of the dawn with his faithful old pard,
Watching the black silhouette of an Eagle in flight,
Across the crimson horizon and fast growing light.
Pale dust in gray puffs rise from the hooves of the horse,
As they follow the dry bed of a starved water course.
Into the vastness of the desert of kaleidoscopic hues,
Sprinkled with the silver of the early morning dews.
He follows mountain trails into places unknown,
To all but the fathers who have taught him and shown,
Him where the spirits of life meet in the clouds,
Having cast off the remnants of deaths clinging shrouds.
And there he dismounts to sit in silence to hear,
The wise words on the wind that tells him she's near.
~ 2 ~
And she bathes him in warmth tending his sorrow,
As she skips through his heart like a passionate arrow
And he takes a deep breath as the tear in his eye,
Is made by her sweet image perfectly dry..
Strange feelings arrest him; wise voices he hears,
As she dances about with her hands full of tears,
Which spilling turn silver then golden then red,
As much whispering explains while nothing is said,
Then the burning Sun rises as if from her hands,
With the warmth of its fire spreading over the land,
Where he rides back alone down the trials of time,
With a love in his heart that is serene and divine
And the shadows stretch far from the dusk of the sun
As he rides home with his memories now the long day is done.
~ 3 ~
He hears laughter from children as he unsaddles his horse,
Sees twin images of wonder running down from the house
So tiny they are as they cling to his knees,
As in each hand he lifts them with such delicate ease.
His tiredness leaves him with the ache in his bones,
For a moment his duties he forgets and postpones.
And grunting he hugs them close to his chest,
As in the distance an Eagle takes flight from her nest.
And he watches her drifting with the currents of air,
Over the heads of the children who know not his despair.
And he hugs them tighter with a frown on his brow,
As he sees that the Eagle is leaving them now.
To merge with the mystery of the vanishing day,
And he chases the children as they frolic and play.
©Copyright May 18, 2005 by Colin F. Jones
For JJ