Stained Glass Interior Pages
At night, I dream of savage dogs
chasing a bear, of hunters killing
the bear. In my driveway, I protect
my own dog, my pet; I also
place myself between a second bear
and these hunters. My bear returns
to the forest, but their bear perishes.
Everywhere I turn, there are dogs
with teeth bared, dogs knowing no master
other than the abstract. I watch them;
do nothing. I learn I can only protect
what is closest to me. The challenge
of study is to know when to act;
when to remain still, which is also
life's challenge or the parallel story
told in fairy tales, dreams. My story, then,
is about this unraveling, this decoding
of marks, of arranging their mosaic
into meaningful patterns. To this task
I bend my being, hoping
the dog that approaches will not
bite me to the bone.
