The Dream and the Waking

Silent but distant,

Real but not seen

Here but not happening,

Forever has been

Into this absence,

Two had but strayed

Retracing in circles,

They surrendered, dismayed

Behind them, darkness

Ahead, the unknown

So they stood, uninvited

...But the roots had grown

An error, a tangent

A curious mind

An instant, a lifetime

A secret to find

The dream and the waking

Occurring together

Realising, then

That it mattered not whether

Imagined movements

Near shimmering webs

The Nightfall descended

To rest by their heads

Their feet planted firmly

'Neath four darting eyes

With pupils dilated,

They counted the sighs

Their legs fading into

A curding moss

Their lungs slowly filling

With decades of loss

That scent form the forest

Not taking, not giving

They knew only this —

Not buried, not living

Their stagnating veins

Now hidden from view

In skin for the willow

And bone for the dew

The dream and the waking

Ending together

Understanding then

It had not mattered, ever