Hidden Dominion

image borrowed from 1wallpaperhd.com

Hidden Dominion

“You can have no dominion greater or less than

that over yourself.”--Leonard da Vinci.

Is there now, or has there ever been,

as we search within & without,

a wondrous land

       where pure Love resides--

       where fairies frolic and fly,

                  competing for flower nectar with honey bees,

       where most birds give free taxi rides,

                  from sparrows to eagles,

       where the rocks all sport faces

                  swathed with the widest of grins,

       where stuffed animals are sentient,

                  ready for hug therapy or family counseling,

       where stones & pebbles are heart-shaped,

                  & multicolored--some polished, most not,

       where fish are often amphibian,

                  traveling across wide beaches & hot sand bars,

                  ridden proudly by orange sea horses who are

                  off to see wizards & kings.

       where every child is perfectly safe,

                  tucked in for naps & slumber--

       where nightmares are banned,

       where every parent, sibling, stranger & group

                  have their arms intertwined, cuddling & caressing

                  dispensing glorious affection

with each breath,

with each heartbeat,

at the dawn of each day over doughnuts,

at midday over tuna salads, and

at evening’s bedside

          where the soft shadows 

                     are at their tallest, mingling mirthfully

                     with tender twilight, in preparation for

                     the delicious darkness & sweet dreams;

after which in a painful awakening, this world, this jack-

booted, greed-fueled, murderous, intolerant, angry,

dangerous, malevolent, humorless, loveless reality

re-emerges--allowing our leaden-eyed gray pallor to

return to our cheeks as we re-enter our ruts.

Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub MTB

Here is the original poem:

Beloved Dominion

Is there now, or has there ever been

a Land where Love resides;

where fairies frolic and fly,

where birds give free taxi rides,

where most of the rocks sport faces

swathed with the widest of grins,

where the stuffed animals are sentient,

where the stones and pebbles 

are heart-shaped,

where fish are often amphibian, 

ridden proudly

by orange and gold sea horses,

where every child is perfectly safe

tucked within hugs within kisses 

within hugs,

where every parent, sibling, stranger, 

and group have their arms intertwined, 

cuddling, caressing, dispensing

affection first, with each breath, 

with each heartbeat

at the dawn of each day over doughnuts,

at midday over bologna sandwiches,

at evening’s bedside when the soft shadows

are at their tallest, mingling mirthfully 

with twilight

in preparation for darkness and dreams,

when this world, this jack-booted 

greed-fueled angry dangerous 

malevolent humorless loveless reality

re-emerges?

Glenn Buttkus August 2009