Barbara Spring
While Circling the Pond, You Might Get a Second Chance
I left my dream at the edge of the pond,
the pond of dreams they call it – with satin reeds,
toasty brown, on wobbly green stalks,
and cattails, mallards and white ducks with bright orange
bills. It gurgled, this dream, as it floated
out into the middle of the pond sank like a stone, shot bubbles
up through
the cold dark water, like pearls that grew as they neared
the surface, then ruptured into nothingness,
like red blood cells
in salt water, like my heart when a friend dies.
Walk around the pond, walk around the pond twice,
and again for good measure. Your dream might come back
but not in a day. Look at the cattails, see what they say.
Never wait for a lost dream go plant seeds,
plant seeds e v e r y w h e r e – in sows’ ears
in the livers of channel cats
in vitro
in God We Trust
inside the drooping eyelids of old friends
under the boardwalk
under pressure
over the underpass
under the overpass
around towns you’ve never visited.
Leave no stone unturned. Make your arms hurt, your hands cry
out on pain: I am tired of planting seeds, wiping sweat from my face,
chipping trowels on stone, breaking my back. I am a prisoner of seeds.
Go about your business. Plan your days as so you need, pan for gold,
make hay while the sun shines, kiss everyone
except your cousins and maybe them
geez….I can’t tell you not to.
One morning while you are in the midst of having life that dream
will reappear and call you by name and you
will have to make a decision. Just you.
John Dorroh’s first poem was scribbled on the bathroom wall with his mother’s red lipstick. He believes that his writing has improved a bit over the years. Two of his poems were nominated for Best of the Net. His first chapbook will be published in 2022.
Barbara Spring is a poet and a painter and an author. She has published four books: The Dynamic Great Lakes; The Wilderness Within; Sophia’s Lost and Found; and Between Sweetwater and Sand. The Dynamic Great Lakes is non-fiction and the rest are poetry.These books may be found on Amazon.com. She lives near the shore of Lake Michigan with her husband and her daughters live nearby.