Solitary-Poet

Carpet of yellow petals, 

Gently stroked by the California sun

A Phoenix rises magically – 

Aided by the unlikely brush 

Of the drought ridden landscape.

Winds carrying the folded seeds

Yet too young to hold life,

Hiding in the shadows.

The wind, gentle in it’s embrace

Holds them in its life-giving clutches.

Then, grows stronger – by purpose,

Sways randomly and howls,

Announcing it’s intent, waits a moment,

Then scatters them without thought. 

The seeds fall – rain down

An invisible carpet of yellow,

Settling like snow at the start of winter. 

A serene bed of invisible yellow, Lush –

Waiting to be pulled

Waiting to be trampled 

Waiting to be smelled

Now covering the drought ridden scape.

The seeds,

Unfold – opening two closely held palms

Reveal tiny specks of life.

Each seed holding, 

Minuscule caged lives of leaves, branches, shoots and roots. 

Each seed releases the caged lives

To capture in its field of mustard dreams, stories- 

That have yet to be told. 

The plants rise – 

To become themselves,

From minuscule cages. 

Climbing steadily –

Up invisible ropes. 

Revealing carpets of yellow 

Revealing their baby dreams 

Held long in the caged embrace of the seed. 

Carpets adorning a passageway

An intersection between two paths

Crossing on a busy highway.

Cars buzzing past,

Carrying chatter, music, crying, fighting, laughter, solitude

All sorts of souls really. 

All in one, 

Glance at waving carpet of yellow

Then shoot by

Scatter everywhere, ignoring

The field of mustard dreams. 

A flowing field of yellow,

Somewhere else,

Holds stories untold. 

Feels Unending –  

Looks to hide the sunset where it ends. 

Weaves hopes and desires of lovers, 

Amongst its fields of mustard dreams. 

Hiding – Sweet warmth of their embrace,

Clinging to each other,

Willing precious moments into eternity. 

Music of their laughter, 

Warming of their faces –

Smiles only known to them. 

Gentle sound of the steps,

Tiptoeing towards each other,

Hiding from everywhere. 

Their lives now only theirs

For no else 

Only for the field of mustard dreams to know. 

Moments of eternity pass – 

Sun finally overrun

By unending fields of mustard dreams. 

The lovers-

Their warmth now becomes a memory,

Music now just an echo gently subsiding

Tiptoes moving slowly away from each other

Leaving gentle impressions soon to vanish. 

Their lives – 

Soon to be everybody else’s. 

They return – 

 Into the the busy highway 

Joined by their others.

Moving past each other,

Not recognizing – 

Music of their laughter

Warmth of their smile 

Tiptoeing of their steps. 

Joining their paths along the busy highway,

The crossroads that joined them 

Now moves away. 

The lovers look back – 

One last time at the field of mustard dreams.

And wonder –

Will their dreams hold forever,

Or be wiped away by the wind

Unannounced and in an instant

To form another field of mustard dreams

– Somewhere else.