Once upon a time,
in a land that only seems faraway but is
here and now for the dreamers who believe,
there lived a tribe of poets, soul-explorers
who breathed in life
and breathed out life,
who dared to slip off their shoes
and splash barefoot in puddles
on rainy days.

And in this, the Land
of the Living Dream, lilac laughter spilled out
and sprinkled even those who did not yet know
the miracle of the dance,
who were still afraid
of passing the peace pipe
and telling the stories that were all,
in the end, that could save their kind
from certain destruction.

The wisdom-seekers,
who sought out ancient story and embarked
on a quest for visions of truth, undaunted
by the terrible Spirit of No
which loomed large
in the dark days just before
that blessed advent of the Golden Kingdom,
the reign of promised joy.

And it will be said
of our Once Upon a Time that it was the flame
of hope the poets and the dreamers and the dancers
guarded so passionately that led them
to know, first in their collective soul
and later in the mind’s eye, that we
had been loved all the way back home
to the Giver of Life
and Dreamer of Dreams.

Taste now this life and see
what wonder will unfold. Breathe deeply
of the silent spring that rises within you.
In all your brilliance, shine!
Listen for the whispered ‘Yes’
upon a twisting turquoise wind,
and dare to follow the distant drum
that sings a circle song
of once upon a time again.