Dreaming Wild Back
by Odin Roark

Gonna keep it together,
Those snapshot archives,
Those snatches of breath taken,
Not to be exhaled,
But to be held,
Awaiting danger’s next move.

How empowering those glimpses
Performed by mortality’s jester,
The one always goading our
Instinctual regard for safety.

To go for it,
To reach a bit higher,
To trust the fingertips will balance,
That foot-jams will hold,
That focused breathing will not betray,
Such is the elixir for living.

Aging life’s climbers,
Forever trust the last peak conquered
Will sustain that need to never forget,
That the eventual hospice base camp reality
Will somehow prolong stubborn imagination,
Even as one gums the peas and carrots,
Slides mashed potatoes into the once fire-in-the-belly,
Now but a campfire of reverie.

Oh, to nourish another day for
Dreaming wild back.