In my dreams, some afternoons drift randomly
almost without notice
entangled in the filtered dapples of sunlight
flowing on a wooded path
subdued – even more than usual

Today is remarkable
twilight came early.

Faint nocturnal music
like the glisten of amethyst crystals,
is familiar. Welcome.

I step onto the first rung
of a weather-worn silvery-gray ladder
poised in the middle
of the woodland path.
With a heave of my body
I begin the upward climb into the cloudy mist
The earth disappears below me.
No end in sight. The ladder sways in wide arcs,
unattached to anything above me
I breathe deeply with the realization of imminent peril
Obscure. At the apex of
a septuagenarian decade –
my eyes grow dim in the mist.

Soft nocturnal music,
like the glisten of amethyst crystals,
is familiar. Welcome.

My memory is sharp
Oh! The fear of plunging.

I remember yesterday’s bright sunlight
Offered clear focus like a citrine stone
A contrast to murky prophecies
I hear in the changing ocean tides.
The lively sonata of midday skies
responds to the muted notes of night stars
time is temporal. immeasurable.
Our last summer dance is coming to a conclusion
I can feel the music as I twirl about amid the changing
landscape of late-blooming Goldenrod.
Saffron yellow blossoms spring from
Leaf-covered woody stems.
These wild perennials are higher than my head.
I reach out – touch
edges of long, slender leaves
velvety textures, delicate-scented buds.

I watch for the Solar Eclipse to begin at noon
over the meadow and along the churning streams.
Tiny slivers of golden sunshine shimmer over the fields of Goldenrod
in my small shard of Appalachian foothills.
An inner cry urges me –
“Dance again.”
“Dance again!”

By Lynda Lambert Sept. 17, 2017

Lynda McKinney Lambert lives in the rural Village of Wurtemburg in western Pennsylvania. She writes poetry and creative non-fiction essays. She retired from teaching as professor of fine arts and humanities at Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvannia, USA. Lambert’s first book, Concerti: Psalms for the Pilgrimage was published by Kota Press. Her work appears in Spirit Fire Review; Indiana Voice Journal; Magnets & Ladders; Stylist; Breath & Shadow; Wordgathering; The Avocet; Proverse Hong Kong; Behind our Eyes: A Second Look – Anthology; and other literary journals and anthologies. She is also an actively exhibiting fiber artist. Major themes in her creative works are Nature; Mythology; Art and History.

Lynda McKinney lost most of her sight in 2007 due to Ischemic Optic Neuropathy. She creates her art work and writing projects via the use of technologies for the blind.

Visit her Blog: www.lyndalambert.com
View her Author’s Page: www.dldbooks.com/lyndalambert
Contact her: llambert@zoominternet.net

Our truest life is when we are in our dreams – awake.” Henry David Thoreau

Photo by Jason Ross of field of blooming goldenrod at Colored Sands Forest Preserve in northern Illinois