Precipice Longing

Once
where chance dared not go
while passion starved eyes
drank from chalices of make believe

When
from tree-house perches
where purity of peanut butter and jelly whispers
teased innocent fantasies
and fed penthouse imaginings

While
expected bedrock truth
eroded with fortune's reversal
pup tents and comic books
fish lines and swimming holes
fluttered through moonless dreams
speaking humorous one-liners sadly

Reluctantly
I shed the husks
from premature harvests
stand naked before shadows dim
as yesterday's wick clocks out
with sputter-choked flame
desperately seeking new beginnings

Now
the tether waning
time makes ready
the eyes
the ears
for distances of another kind

Preparing
to see
and hear
beyond the edge
where tomorrow's echoes
caress wisdom's journey
and perhaps defy another
precipice longing