Brambles
Playing 'refugees',
Creeping over steep embankments
Finding sanctuary in dense woods,
Escape routes between gravestones;
Our secret places,
Where I unfolded the story,
Hacking through under-growth;
Shouting orders -
'Hide!' 'Run!'
And you angry, calling out
To wait on, to listen,
To play your adventure.
We move through our lives
Grown in our roles,
Each leaving tracks on our chosen routes;
You no longer filling my wake
As I run ahead telling the tale.
Now, your own secret place
Where predatory thorns dig deep,
Moving through silent spaces,
Whispering orders -
'Rest' 'Hope',
And me still calling you to come,
To come on, while you fight
Tangled in the brambles.
The moon revealed through
Hide and seek clouds
Undecided in wax and wane;
And there you are, uncertain,
The dale below, the fells remote;
Our remembered places
All now unfettered, the brambles
Gentle fingers soothing skin and soul
Murmuring release,
'Go.' 'Run on.'
And me watching you stride ahead
Leading us to our next adventure,
Far beyond the clouds and thorns.
