…at the edges of darkness

In my dreams there is a place
a shining, silken place
soft and rolling
with a texture in and of itself
in its hills and hollows
there is bold creation
in wild abandon
a topography designed
by greater gods
a landscape of mountains
and oceans
stretching out forever
a golden desert
sparse with vegetation
warm with the rosy hues
of morning
and cold in the shadows
of night

there are subtle
hidden places
where unexpected fires rage
uncontrolled, unquenched
constantly drenched
with warm precipitation
its raging torrents
slicing through the heat
there is quiet contemplation
there is calm reflection
in the cooling rain
but the dark caverns
hidden deep within
hold urgent, searing secrets

just as I, they have always
sought discovery
and satiation
but this dark landscape
is not for the faint hearted
it has pain and pleasure
trials and treasures
it is a paradise with plenty
but I  may only hold
a single place
in memory forever
one sensation resounds
over and over
together with a feeling
that I cannot quite recall
yet I feel it as the weather

I cannot hold it in my mind
for but a minute
yet it still holds me
suspended in its grip
in this place
in this dark, haunted place
in this place
of sudden, bright exposures
this experience
this haunting echo
of something
not yet forgotten
still lingering
at the edges, of darkness
© Ann Bagnall