Chapter the Seventeenth

Leaves dangle
Light lingers little
Birds are hushing
Sky blushes pale

Darkness falls
Stars gleam
Moon rises
Tree frogs sing

The night whispers
With early spring choir
The path is strewn
With fallen flower

Weary, worn, the world lays
Lonely, forlorn, the people pray
Steadfast, sturdy, the Father listens
Gentle, caring, the Father beckons

Fears are assured, rest falls
Upon the sheep gathered in fold
The Shepherd watches
The Shepherd stands
Along side the flock

Ripples
Spread behind.

The glass is touched;
Broken, where I’ve gone,
Clear ahead,
Quiet.

Silent trees
Stoop down to meet the water,
Hidden shores drift by;
Red-crowned mountains
Spread the lake
With twilight fire.

The owl’s cry
Echoes in the fading sun:
I must have come by dream
Into this living song
Where mountains
Speak with wild words:
“This is a shadow of the Glory”

1.
You make a valentine of galaxies
The universe is your love letter
Though we’re stained and torn
You laid down your life for us, so insignificant
So we could be your bride—
Whiter than snow.

2.
And I’ll ride away on my Heart Air Balloon
Fly off to the sky
Away from the HeartbreakLands where now I dwell
And I will be the Queen of Hearts.
But I will miss the seashells,
And there are things I cannot forget…

Ander learned three very important things that first day of alone, training with Shyllen. Number one: Don’t argue with temperamental dragonesses, especially when she is holding a wooden staff that she knows how to use better than you do.

“Hold it like so,” Shyllen instructed him, positioning his hands on the long, wooden staff. They stood on the sandy floor of the cave’s north corner, their shoes removed and out of the way along the wall. Ander flexed his toes in the cool sand, nervously following Shyllen’s directions.

"Ned, bring me bread!"
is what Mother said
when she woke up on a warm western morn.
But Ned refused, for he felt so abused,
and besides, he would rather have corn.

But the wind did blow,
for that's how winds go,
and he had to go down to the store.
While dear Mother's voice gave him no more choice,
So he hurried off to the shop on Seashore.

Seashore was a road
where many a toad
had met his unfortunate end.
But despite this gloomy thought, Ned went to where they bought
everything they needed, my friend.

Hush,
Hush,
Swish,
rush
of drawing breath, curtains
dark
hush
hush
crack, pulse
beating wildly like wings of
night beetle
tip
tip
toe
across
fabric plain, across hands that play
that they are spiders, too
and
hush, tap
click and clack and crack and
pulse, pulse, pulse
lying here in bed
but
hush,
hush
hearing faint
music
tap
tap
voices
leaping
through warm brightness
just a circle of light

One, two, three, how can this be?
Four, five, six, I can’t believe I got someone like this,
Seven, eight, nine, ten, what a perfect way for this to begin.

One, two, three, why haven’t you been talking to me?
Four, five, six, opening and closing my fists,
Seven, eight, nine, ten, begging for this not to be the end.

One, Two, three, now I can’t breathe,
Four, five, six, what I can’t have is the only thing I miss,
Seven, eight, nine, ten, I’ll stand my ground and myself I’ll defend.

Dear Blog-Blog readers,