Silent but distant, Real but not seen Here but not happening, Forever has been
Into this absence, Two had but strayed Retracing in circles, They surrendered, dismayed
Behind them, darkness Ahead, the unknown So they stood, uninvited ...but the roots had grown
An error, a tangent A curious mind An instant, a lifetime A secret to find
Imagined movements Near shimmering webs The nightfall descended To rest by their heads Their feet planted firmly 'neath four darting eyes With pupils dilated, They counted the sighs
The dream and the waking Occurring together Realising, then That it mattered not whether
Imagined movements Near shimmering webs The nightfall descended To rest by their heads Their feet planted firmly 'neath four darting eyes With pupils dilated, They counted the sighs
Their legs fading into A curding moss Their lungs slowly filling With decades of loss
That scent from the forest Not taking, not giving They knew only this — Not buried, not living
Their stagnating veins Now hidden from view In skin for the willow And bone for the dew
The dream and the waking Ending together Understanding then It had not mattered, ever
