A poem about a reoccurring dream triggering memories from the sounds of a summer eve |
The Great Horned Owls hoot on for hours breaking the silence of a cloudy and humid summer night. The windows to the outside world are wide open allowing the sweetness of the firs and pines fragrance to permeate the stale, sultry bedroom air. The conversation between the owls sounds like a long distance phone call in which time pauses between the short awkward sentences. "hoohoohoo hoohoohoo hoo" One sounds as if she was in the next room. As their unique poignant chatter echoes off the giant trees, the other stranger in the distance seems to be a country mile away. He answers her questions willingly from the stillness of his roost on the other side of the draw His nocturnal call resonates up the treed hill overlooking the rippling brook as it enters the emerald rock dammed pond of cool, crystal clear, spring water. From the north, beyond the crest of the hill, a new sound is heard in the night’s darkness, hushing the flirtatious owls lullaby. It is the sound of the distant trains in the valley speeding though the night on the infinite rails. From this lonely audible vantage point, I once again count crossing horn blasts like sheep The first whistles are barely heard from a great distance evolving into undeniable peaceful solitude ending, dream ruining, ruminating noise. Finally fading into the night air, like a distant memory Silence is restored after 28 horn blasts warn all creatures and mankind that the train from somewhere passed in the night Traversing seemingly infinite tracks crossing great physical and cultural distances Defining an unfamiliar journey towards unknown destinations. The Great Horned Owls were then silenced by the aura of vivid human sentimental emotions transcending the nighttime air Enigmatic silent reverie quieted their lost moment of intimate organic vocal exchange I reminisced quietly in my mind over that exact sound scenario’s feeling of déjà vu Slipping into a dream knowing I've been here before... Remembering our time together... As you lie next to me with only a musky cotton sheet partially covering your sleeping beauty while listening to the silence, broken by the wonders of nature. I watched you countless times content to be in the moment I relished the melody of your sensual exhaled breath as you slept. Willingly, I silently counted Owls and trains... contemplating the loss of this moment in my mind. While imagining your peaceful slumber, once again I feel you close to me. As I closed my eyes I watched the trains refection of the dawning red sky as you boarded that train. Left here behind, with these roots grounded in the bed rock of my history, I watched as you disappeared into the distant horizon I could hear the fading whistle at some far-away crossing of the infinite rails traveling towards unknown final destinations… |