A poem~
This is the first poem I've made in quite a long time. It's based in part on a dream I had a few days ago, and then the rest I winged it. Hope you enjoy~
Because I Dreamt of Heather
Down a watery tunnel-way,
Where faeries and goblins like to play,
There lives on an adventure ten-times-told,
But never again lived so bold.
Past vast glens of faerie’s heather,
Past a goblin horse bound by ivy tether,
Beyond the gates built by truth and by lies,
Is the castle never seen by coward’s eyes.
The castle shines like silver,
It glitters like finest gold,
It’s walls are lined with dignity and respect,
The gemstones of the soul.
I began the journey to take me there,
Though afraid I was of the goblin’s snares,
I thought of the faeries, the remains of souls,
Who left death with a tale to be told.
I myself had exited life in such a hurry,
That I forgot to bring with me a story.
And to my regret, the gods to me told,
That life anew couldn’t be bought with silver or gold.
“Payment”, they said, “Must be in the form of a story or a dance.”
But by undeserved fortune, they gave me one last chance.
I was told to meet the faeries in their castle far-away-yonder,
That my reward for my toils would be a tale to ponder.
The tale would by my key for a story yet-to-be,
But if by goblin’s I was tempted, it’d be the end of me.
By my left at the start of the journey,
Was a boy of a man whose bread was money,
Many fools of their gold he did gladly part,
But though his pocket was full, he had an empty heart.
By my right was a lady of a girl,
By contrast, she’d had not a penny in the world.
She had been gifted with an eye for art, in exchange for all her strife,
So I wondered what great evil had taken her sweet young life.
First we rode down the tunnel,
Much fun was there had!
Though it was also terrifying,
It wasn’t really half bad.
It was dark and it was slippery, and we had no idea where it was going,
But in my own opinion, half the fun was in not knowing.
We arrived all muddy, quite the sight,
Especially among the faeries flowers so ripe.
Every petal was at it’s peak.
It was the prettiest sight I’d thought I’d seen.
But then forgotten memories came suddenly to call,
I’d seen such beauty before, but never noticed it at all.
When we at last, and much too soon,
Reach the end of the heather and sunny gorse,
We noticed that both sun and moon,
Hung above a handsome black horse.
The stallion was well-bred, it’s horse hair fine and sleek.
But it was clearly some kind of wretched, our eyes it would not meet.
“What sort of steed,” The poor-rich man said aloud,
“Has both sun and moon above his brow?
“He’s a magic horse, I do claim!
And look, he looks like he’s been tamed…”
I could see my friend thought himself very clever.
But I’d also seen how he’d not noticed the heather.
Instead, he noticed the steed’s ivy tether,
And wondered, “How much could it possibly weather?”
“Friend,” I tried to say sweet, “Just what do you plan to do?
This steed must be miserable for a reason… Plus, it doesn’t belong to you.”
He dismissed my morals without fear,
“I’m riding this magic horse out of here!
Besides, finders-keepers, that’s the game!
It’s the fate of all property left unprotected and unclaimed!”
And he broke the ivy tether, without shame.
But of his folly he became quickly aware,
When his skin began to sprout black horse’s hair.
His startled shout became a neigh,
And around his neck an ivy tether would stay,
Until another fool like him would foolishly give,
His freedom away, as he’d given his.
We moved on through a forest,
Until his piteous sounds we could no longer hear.
And soon we saw forward from us,
Two gates, an unlikely pair.
For though both gates were set in stone,
One gate rusted, the other shone.
Beyond the rusted gate was a bog, endless bleak and grey,
Though along it’s muddy path, a few heathers managed to stray.
Beyond the golden gate was a sight so beautiful to view,
That I knew at once in my heart, it’s image could not be true.
But my companion grasped the golden bars, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Oh look! It’s my dear old grand-mama!
She’s not been dead for years!
She’s happy and she’s healthy!
She’s even got a plate of cookies!”
I hugged my dear companion, her pain I truly knew.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered sadly, “But the image lies to you…”
She pushed me backwards violently.
“If this is what I choose, then let me be!”
And I saw by the punctures on her arm,
I could not help what she’d already harmed.
So now alone, I traveled through,
The rusted gate with it’s haunted view.
With the goblins watching me with silent wrath,
But I focused on the heathers, which provided me a path.
I followed the heathers and gave them my faith, for both were all I had.
Until the last bloom brought me to,
A pond that reflected both sun and moon.
I looked up to the horizon, starless and black.
I prayed that my faith would someday come back.
Then I jumped into the pond, without hearing a splash.
I awoke standing, surrounded by jeweled blooms.
With pretty little faeries sitting on stained glass mushrooms.
Perhaps it was quite spoiled of me,
But the castle wasn’t as pretty as I thought it would be.
I missed the natural heathers that I had grown to love,
Especially the ones that managed to grow from the mud.
“So tell us, silly mortal,” The faeries tinkered together,
“What did you learn while you walked through our gorse and heather?”
I sat a moment on one of their shrooms, to think before I spoke,
Til I said, “I learned many things, but these three I treasure most:
I learned first, it is most unwise,
To value matter more than any prize,
Because then you’ll find yourself forever tethered to,
Materials you’ll learn, never belonged to you.
Materials that’s price is much too steep,
Which you are not even allowed to keep.”
The faeries giggled madly, “Oh, do go on!
What else did you learn before you jumped into our pond?”
“I learned…” I did go on obediently, though my heart felt like it was going to tear,
“That it is also foolish to treasure nothing but dreams, for they are nothing but air.
Dreams are our hopes for tomorrow,
Without them, we’d be eaten by our sorrow.
But if you feed your only body’s matter to a dream that can never be,
Then your dreams will always be dreams, and never reality.”
The faerie’s eyes dripped diamond tears, and they wiped mine away along with my fears.
“If you’d be so kind, mortal, let us know,
What lesson did you come to treasure most?”
I told them, “From now on, I’ll remember every day,
To stop to smell the flowers along the way.”
I can’t tell you, my friends, what magic next occurred,
Because when you start life anew, your memory becomes quite blurred…
But there’s one thing I’ll remember always, no matter what part I play.
As long as you’re alive, stop to smell the flowers along the way.
Because I Dreamt of Heather
Down a watery tunnel-way,
Where faeries and goblins like to play,
There lives on an adventure ten-times-told,
But never again lived so bold.
Past vast glens of faerie’s heather,
Past a goblin horse bound by ivy tether,
Beyond the gates built by truth and by lies,
Is the castle never seen by coward’s eyes.
The castle shines like silver,
It glitters like finest gold,
It’s walls are lined with dignity and respect,
The gemstones of the soul.
I began the journey to take me there,
Though afraid I was of the goblin’s snares,
I thought of the faeries, the remains of souls,
Who left death with a tale to be told.
I myself had exited life in such a hurry,
That I forgot to bring with me a story.
And to my regret, the gods to me told,
That life anew couldn’t be bought with silver or gold.
“Payment”, they said, “Must be in the form of a story or a dance.”
But by undeserved fortune, they gave me one last chance.
I was told to meet the faeries in their castle far-away-yonder,
That my reward for my toils would be a tale to ponder.
The tale would by my key for a story yet-to-be,
But if by goblin’s I was tempted, it’d be the end of me.
By my left at the start of the journey,
Was a boy of a man whose bread was money,
Many fools of their gold he did gladly part,
But though his pocket was full, he had an empty heart.
By my right was a lady of a girl,
By contrast, she’d had not a penny in the world.
She had been gifted with an eye for art, in exchange for all her strife,
So I wondered what great evil had taken her sweet young life.
First we rode down the tunnel,
Much fun was there had!
Though it was also terrifying,
It wasn’t really half bad.
It was dark and it was slippery, and we had no idea where it was going,
But in my own opinion, half the fun was in not knowing.
We arrived all muddy, quite the sight,
Especially among the faeries flowers so ripe.
Every petal was at it’s peak.
It was the prettiest sight I’d thought I’d seen.
But then forgotten memories came suddenly to call,
I’d seen such beauty before, but never noticed it at all.
When we at last, and much too soon,
Reach the end of the heather and sunny gorse,
We noticed that both sun and moon,
Hung above a handsome black horse.
The stallion was well-bred, it’s horse hair fine and sleek.
But it was clearly some kind of wretched, our eyes it would not meet.
“What sort of steed,” The poor-rich man said aloud,
“Has both sun and moon above his brow?
“He’s a magic horse, I do claim!
And look, he looks like he’s been tamed…”
I could see my friend thought himself very clever.
But I’d also seen how he’d not noticed the heather.
Instead, he noticed the steed’s ivy tether,
And wondered, “How much could it possibly weather?”
“Friend,” I tried to say sweet, “Just what do you plan to do?
This steed must be miserable for a reason… Plus, it doesn’t belong to you.”
He dismissed my morals without fear,
“I’m riding this magic horse out of here!
Besides, finders-keepers, that’s the game!
It’s the fate of all property left unprotected and unclaimed!”
And he broke the ivy tether, without shame.
But of his folly he became quickly aware,
When his skin began to sprout black horse’s hair.
His startled shout became a neigh,
And around his neck an ivy tether would stay,
Until another fool like him would foolishly give,
His freedom away, as he’d given his.
We moved on through a forest,
Until his piteous sounds we could no longer hear.
And soon we saw forward from us,
Two gates, an unlikely pair.
For though both gates were set in stone,
One gate rusted, the other shone.
Beyond the rusted gate was a bog, endless bleak and grey,
Though along it’s muddy path, a few heathers managed to stray.
Beyond the golden gate was a sight so beautiful to view,
That I knew at once in my heart, it’s image could not be true.
But my companion grasped the golden bars, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Oh look! It’s my dear old grand-mama!
She’s not been dead for years!
She’s happy and she’s healthy!
She’s even got a plate of cookies!”
I hugged my dear companion, her pain I truly knew.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered sadly, “But the image lies to you…”
She pushed me backwards violently.
“If this is what I choose, then let me be!”
And I saw by the punctures on her arm,
I could not help what she’d already harmed.
So now alone, I traveled through,
The rusted gate with it’s haunted view.
With the goblins watching me with silent wrath,
But I focused on the heathers, which provided me a path.
I followed the heathers and gave them my faith, for both were all I had.
Until the last bloom brought me to,
A pond that reflected both sun and moon.
I looked up to the horizon, starless and black.
I prayed that my faith would someday come back.
Then I jumped into the pond, without hearing a splash.
I awoke standing, surrounded by jeweled blooms.
With pretty little faeries sitting on stained glass mushrooms.
Perhaps it was quite spoiled of me,
But the castle wasn’t as pretty as I thought it would be.
I missed the natural heathers that I had grown to love,
Especially the ones that managed to grow from the mud.
“So tell us, silly mortal,” The faeries tinkered together,
“What did you learn while you walked through our gorse and heather?”
I sat a moment on one of their shrooms, to think before I spoke,
Til I said, “I learned many things, but these three I treasure most:
I learned first, it is most unwise,
To value matter more than any prize,
Because then you’ll find yourself forever tethered to,
Materials you’ll learn, never belonged to you.
Materials that’s price is much too steep,
Which you are not even allowed to keep.”
The faeries giggled madly, “Oh, do go on!
What else did you learn before you jumped into our pond?”
“I learned…” I did go on obediently, though my heart felt like it was going to tear,
“That it is also foolish to treasure nothing but dreams, for they are nothing but air.
Dreams are our hopes for tomorrow,
Without them, we’d be eaten by our sorrow.
But if you feed your only body’s matter to a dream that can never be,
Then your dreams will always be dreams, and never reality.”
The faerie’s eyes dripped diamond tears, and they wiped mine away along with my fears.
“If you’d be so kind, mortal, let us know,
What lesson did you come to treasure most?”
I told them, “From now on, I’ll remember every day,
To stop to smell the flowers along the way.”
I can’t tell you, my friends, what magic next occurred,
Because when you start life anew, your memory becomes quite blurred…
But there’s one thing I’ll remember always, no matter what part I play.
As long as you’re alive, stop to smell the flowers along the way.