ENTER THE BLACKNESS
dream places me in early frontier America
gathering hall
warm smell of oily leather and aromatic wood
comforting taste of smoke
low yellow glow of a fire
we quietly mill around
boots softly scraping on scattered straw
outside dark night
close woods surround us
we are Republicans they say
racoon hats and long single shot rifles
i am Democrat i reply
now i am outside
cold winter’s night
woman and her daughter
standing quietly near the river
statuesque beauties
pale skin, white sheer garments
red lipstick
impossible beauty
we talk for a while
together they turn
cross the road
silently enfolded by trees
entering the blackness
woodsman tells me to get her father, which i do
the three of us fan out
i hear his boots
softly squelching in the wet undergrowth
as we follow these extraordinary beings
into the blackness
