"Story"

[butterflydreaming]

-Story-

Tell me a story, my lady said
as I folded her into blanket and bed
but I saw she was listening to Morpheus calling,
Her head on my shoulder, her eyelids falling,
the curtains closing on the waking stage,
the scenery flown
the set struck

I took my bows too, and followed her down
A step behind the hem of her gown
off backstage to change our clothes;
Then back up to the empty house we rose
In new costumes for the night
Robed in wishes
Clad in magic

And out we went past the velvet chairs
down the carpeted, marble stairs
from the mezzanine to the lower floor
beyond the great mahogany double door
Out to the night, glittering with snow
the icicle moon
the crystal stars

Upon the sidewalk we danced, we twirled,
so that our cozy, warm cloaks swirled
and flashed their hidden satin hues;
We strolled along in our shining shoes
lifting our voices in tipsy singing
Lips in the shapes of rosey lyrics
Breath in clouds of white

"Where to now?" My lady smiled.
With the mischief of a child
she ran off down the boulevard
So I chased her, sprinting hard
splashing puddles creased with ice
reaching out to catch her scarf
as silken as her stride

It spooled out behind her, a kite tail,
Her laughter billowing, full sail.
We swam through pools of lamp post spotlight,
We flew on wings feathered with night,
Chameleon as the shadings of dusk
gods in a playground
of possibilities

On imagination's palette, the brush of thought
daubs impossible colors out of mind's paint pot
We spool the pictures into a single reel
And turn the gears of a narrative wheel
Making sense of a motley mosaic
Confetti in the shifting air
Fireworks, falling stars

In her embrace, time overspills its measure;
The heat of her body is a golden treasure
In the cave of our bed, in the blanket heap,
the curve of her side is a nest of safe sleep;
Tell me a story, susurrous enchantment
She whispers
And we dream.