30. Upon that Evening of No Moon

as in fractured | Beauty lost

as in dreams where | you are tossed

come the thoughts you find | alone

as you hold that | cold black stone

do not fret about it | now

your dream, a ship | and its sharp bow

will tear right through | to wakefulness

and leave you sole | but to confess

you do not dream what | you can see

you only dream | what you will be

a pirate cast into the | fray

a man who always is | asway

the single servant | of your quest

to find some minutes | for to rest

you sleep in fits | with fist all clenched

from this deep sleep | your rest is wrenched

you wake at morn | bereft of dream

and find yourself athwart | that seam

between the word of the | awoken

and sleeping still | not having spoken

 

at day | about in works of mind

you have no time | to even find

a little space | from which to think

and wonder if you’ll ever | ink

another word to tell the | tale

of how your life is | nothing frail

though you cannot return | to say

how your dream is | not quite play

but something darker | also bright

something you must | turn back right

just a bit of hope | for time

time enough | to help you climb

out of your sleep | and into wake

so that the day you won’t | forsake

so you will realize the | fear

you see before you | all but clear

the little string about your | head

you pull to shed some light instead

and all you see | inside your sleep

is darkness | and its oily seep

 

your bones are strong | your wit is sharp

you will not plunge from | that steep scarp

not even dream will break your | will

so you relax and watch it | still

the way the light of | dream escapes

and every piece of it | reshapes

the life you think you’ve lived for | long

the reason why you think you’re | strong

the hope you build | up with your prayer

the way you sidestepped death’s | despair

the terror enters | every pore

the skill you learned | and all its lore

the frantic way you | must release

the thoughts inside you | for some peace

the petty thoughts you have | awake

the depths of thought your dream | may slake

the reason why you hope | for care

the reason why you | must beware

of dreams that burden | every thought

you thought you never would have | caught