No Apologies

 
Awake I’m jaded
Asleep I’m a ruby
Maiden, on a voyage
In the sea
Of possibility
 
Awake I’m heavy
Asleep I’m floating
Light as dandelion fluff
That lands in your hair
 
Awake there are rivers
Between us
Asleep we swim them
Together
Sun and shadow
Play across
Our bodies
We glide
Under
Green
canopies, waving
To lizards, squirrels and toads
Lichen-blanket
Ancestral bones
Cradled
In their river beds,
Mammatus, and cumulus
Shape-shift
Just for us
Sssh… look!
Pygmy in the Bush
We’re crossing the Great Water
 
Awake I write
Asleep I sing
A circle of voices
‘round your head
Tell tales of golden fish,
                   green snakes
            and sky blue skies
 
Awake I’m sorry
Asleep I’m not. 

— Katharine Hollister 

Double Honorable Mention, Eye On Life Poetry Contest 2010-2011