Awakening

I awoke one day from a dreamlike sleep,

Not knowing where I was, it seemed,

And lay still as if cast from an ocean deep

Of obscure and dark things I had dreamed.

And as I lay watching the afternoon light

As it streamed through the shadow-filled air,

My thoughts seemed to flow on those beams and take flight

To that bright, sunny world out there.

Where the buzzing of insects and chirping of birds

And a world of sounds we seldom hear,

And the deep hum of Life, like a song without words

Was whispering into my ear.

Of the high-summer treetops that gracefully sway

In the lazy, late afternoon breeze,

And chattering squirrels that scamper and play

As if life were nothing but ease.

Where the dragonflies hover on rainbow wings

That shimmer in a sea of light,

Like prisms reflecting the beauty of things

That are hidden within plain sight.

And the coolness that gently caresses the face

From recesses deep in the shade,

Seems to speak of a hidden source someplace,

Where new and fresh life is made.

Like a hummingbird, I see and can almost taste,

Like nectar upon the tongue,

All the beauties that beckon to be embraced

In a world that is forever young.

And the scent of the jasmine and late-blooming flowers,

And the freshly cut grass fill the air,

And carry the memories of those lost hours

That I had forgotten somewhere.

The sound of the children who giggle and run,

Is wafting from places nearby,

Like a dream of freedom in full-smiling sun,

In a Summer that never can die.

Where the billowy clouds before afternoon storms,

Some great mystery seems to unfold,

And the changing patterns and flow of those forms

Are a story yet to be told.

Daniel is a poet living in Houston, Texas. He has spent much of his life fighting for the ideals of classical culture and poetry. More of his poetry can be found here. He has a collection of poems, compiling over 20 years of composition, which is entitled Voices on the Wind.