The Garden (poem © 2008)

From: The Transcendence, La Salle University Press © 2008 

take my hand, she says
I will take you far from here
and we enter a lush garden
beneath which cool rivers flow
the plants here are ancient yet young
palms sprout from oaks and fruits fall from pines
as they rise like bistre sequoias upon immense roots
carmine roses bloom beside mauve tulips
verdant fronds tangle with sangria-tinged lianas
and grey boulders bulge against chartreuse vines
golden sunlight pierces the thick canopy
while silvery cobwebs glisten with moonlight
and fireflies flicker with the sparks of novas
the burgundy earth is flushed, fertile and soft as silk
I could lay down beside her here and sleep
but she leads me deeper and deeper into the garden
we are nude, wearing nothing but tranquility
holding onto nothing but each other’s hands
her breasts are full and her hips are like the curves of hills
her hair is vibrant, cascading all around her
she is so so beautiful and as she smiles I realize:
it is me whom she desires.
she is leading me deeper and deeper into the garden
further and further from all I have ever known
toward a brilliant light blazing in the forest
it washes over us, dissipating our bodies
but our eyes and lips remain, and our hands do not part
it is time, she says
come with me
I think without thoughts of what I have left behind
of that world I lived in before she brought me to this garden
it was a world of storms and strife, of terror and tears
but it was my world and I loved it
I can’t, I say to her
I want to, but I can’t
where you are taking me there is nothing to be achieved
there are no challenges to face, no quests to be made
there is no suffering, yes, but there is also no hope
there is no despondency, true, but there is also no love
I do not want serenity, even if I seek it
I need thunder and lightning within and without
but where you are taking me there exists only peace
and it is the peace I must never have
she stares at me, her omniscience stunned
I squeeze her hand and say, please let me go
tears stream down her cheeks as her fingers slip from mine
and I slip from the light, back to the chaos from where I came
I’m sorry, I say as I drift away
I’m sorry