Like a thief in the night...

What purpose, this, you coming here,
To stand by foot of bed?
To stir me up from midnight’s depths,
A stranger so familiar
I could have kissed the hand now held outstretched?

Projecting peaceful countenance,
In robes of stardust white,
Beseeching with beguiling eyes,
A radiant smile of innocence,
Come to soothe this restless heart of mine?

In regal pose, my nocturnal host
Did proffer expectation,
Sans any explanation,
I assumed such power could steal my soul,
In lieu of lesser compensation.

I sat up, to better judge
This presence in my darkened room,
My senses not yet keenly tuned,
Whether wide awake, or in slumber’s press,
I leaned closer still, to get a better view.

And at this point, with blankets shed,
I felt a chill that I could not ignore
I noted that my feet were cold,
As I swung them over the side of my bed
And eased them cautiously to floor.

Then happily I had the urge to peek,
The floor lit up, as if by waxy candle.
And by this light I saw them dangle,
Slipping into the waiting straps
Of a worn out pair of old and dusty sandals.

This scene was destined to transpire,
My actions scripted like a play.
Nothing seemed awry or out of place.
I warmed inside, as a comfortable curiosity arose,
Blood pulsing through my waking veins.

Despite the hour I was steady now,
Charged with a strange new energy,
Like Christmas morning ecstasy,
The anticipation of a child rubbing sleepy eyes,
A feeling akin to electricity.

With tingling nerves I tried to speak
To this strange and nameless face.
But still I sat, in muted grace,
Not a syllable could I utter,
Words considered and discounted as inappropriate.

And then a tide rose from my heart,
From a place both intimate and deep.
Through lips a word was breathed,
A single note from the well of souls,
A tender whisper, “Greetings!”

This salutation, I surmised,
A fitting start, for angel or for ghost,
Felt good, somehow, if truth be told.
With a thousand questions running through my mind,
I blushed as tongue unfroze.

“Tell me”, I asked, with much respect,
“Why have you come to find me in this place?
Are you here to seal my fate?
Is this a miracle of God, or heaven forbid,
Some punishment that I must face?”

“Are you a hand to steady me,
Lest I stumble in my foolish pride?
Or is it idle curiosity,
The stirring of the wind that fills your wings
And brings you to my side?”

“Neither emotionless nor apathetic
Have you chosen to appear,
Your continence inviting me
To draw ever and ever the closer,
Though you hesitate to draw the nearer.”

Silent now, on edge of bed,
In tune with beat of heart.
I watched as bedroom flew apart!
Trembled as the room assumed preposterous proportions
And the ceiling filled with stars!

And as it was, I could not rise,
I dared not tread this holy ground.
I dared not take a step at all,
For fear the strides that I might take
Might take me past my earthly bounds.

Frozen thus, both calm and still,
Transported whole through time and space
No longer was I so afraid.
In a brilliant burst of light, the future was unveiled,
And there I stood before that legendary gate.

It seems, that this, in retrospect,
Had been done deliberate for me.
Unfettered now in ecstasy,
I was given to giggling fits, and my mind occasionally to
Disengaging from reality.

The air about me crisp and clear,
My troubles cast upon a warm and gentle breeze.
So too, the sorrows loosed from me,
As winter races from the sun, this vision was not unlike
The change that heralds Spring.

And what of travels,
Of trips beyond the golden isles of dawn?
I’m not certain where I went, or how,
But I woke up with my slippers on!




Michael S. True
3-25-10 last edit 8-6-13