Envy
Friends envy me,
saying i dare to go
where they dream to ride—
Across frail rope bridges
spanning mountain rivers
charging far below;
Sleeping on cold stone benches
in roadless villages where
feral hounds trace circles in the night;
Waking against ricesacks and backpacks
on a bonejarring bus roof
careering faster than wind can go;
Playing an endless game of chess
in a concrete depot, anxious
for a train that never shows;
Saying goodbye to anyone I ever loved or knew
before—
Wind and squall
throw us off deck,
Indian Ocean stars greet us far below.
Friends, don't envy me
adrift on currents
swifter than our soul;
In sleep they carry me
to iceblack seas
where stars are never born.
No bridge, no train,
no bus, no dogs,
no friends or love to know—
Until one night i take a breath,
a cry pours out,
dreaming you to wake and follow.