Imagination’s Mentor
by Odin Roark

Like a sparrow’s gentle eyes…

Its discovery,
surprising,

Its impact,
arousing.

So goes imagination’s elusive light,
its all-consuming journey
artists opt to join,
hoping to actualize
life’s fragile dreams.

Some of us luck out,
discovering the fleeting connection
of our ghostly sparrow,
its gracious existence,
its sharp eyes
belying its calm presence,
beckoning we too
risk our tenuous existence.

Whether with brush,
chisel,
baton
or pen in hand,
we ponder the tenacity of wanderlust flight,
the beckoning of freedom,
the challenge to be
part of Nature’s essence,
perhaps enjoin the love of love?

Her oscillating presence actuates our courage
calmly in morning’s shallow light,
midday’s beacon of heat,
and dusk’s reverie of shadows,
its echoing presence always willing to remain
beside our waning energy.

As we retire from the day’s work,
our smile is genuine,
for it, she, he
somehow endures with us,
even in slumber.

Thought by some
as one’s muse.

By others,
simply truth’s inner mirror.

To all,
such is the vigil of imagination’s light,
a distinction of our choice,
asking little of us,
save the willingness to be who we are,
artists all,
determining expressions
we hope are honest
and worthy of another’s time.