Release your mind for a moment
let it roam to the imagery of a distant landscape,
a place where love roams wild alongside dreams.
Picture a wilderness of towering pines and trees
cloaked in the hues of an autumn sunset.
In the ravine below a stream winds it course
toward an ancient lake bed
where layers of mist rise like ghosts above the water’s surface.

The setting sun seems small in this land of mountain giants,
and in this crimson world of evening shadows come alive
like spirits of the dead.
The wind stirs the treetops, night is falling
and it is time for us to leave.

I take your hand and lead you through the twilight hours,
amidst the carnal sounds that frame our presence but harbour within us no fear.
We reach a clearing in the trees and gaze upon the moon,
the dwarfed king in his mountain lair, a kingdom of sullen light.

With coldness sweeping in our breath becomes frosted,
but talk of love and eternity are enough to keep us warm and help the journey pass.
We find the log cabin high on the mountainside
above a great valley.
A light shines invitingly and plumes of smoke exude from the chimney
though no-one is there, save the ghosts of arboreal winter.
Before we enter we are blessed with a truly wondrous sight,
the northern lights soaring seamlessly, and stand in awe at this
soft parade of colours, transcending Gods and men alike.

Feeling blessed, we leave this ever-changing canvas
and enter the cabin;
the light of the fire is the only light we need.
We shed our clothes and let the flames radiate their warmth upon our skin.
The moaning wind takes leave and we are left together,
prisoners of this great big hush, our words lost in silence
but we have no need for them anyway.

I look at you, long for you – beauty in the firelight,
and we are drawn to each other, seduced by the flames of desire.
We make love in rhythms unbound by flesh and bone,
and time phases in and out of our consciousness.

Fall to sleep my sweet, my pretty one,
do not be afraid to dream,
for you are safe, and warm, and you are home.

(C) Darren Hawbrook

for National Poetry Day