Beyond

Beyond the realm of reality lies my world
Filled with fluttering butterflies glimmering in the bright sun
Dancing over banks of snow.


Imagination and fantasy fill my hours.
A lush green velvet expanse dotted with unicorns,
Heads bowed, cropping the grasses, runs far into the distance.
They ignore the prancing gazelles.
Bounding through, over and around, red coated kangaroos disturb
Only the air through which they leap.


Rising like the morning sun
A stark white castle streaks for the sky.
It grows and fills the far horizon, multicolored steamers top
Every tower, hang from every parapet.
At its base lies a purple haze, billowing in the breeze
That also stirs the streamers, lifting, falling, extending first
Left then right.

Built. Night. Day. Any hour is filled with promises.


The haze grows into a rolling fog crossing the meadow.
Touching, it catches a unicorn head lifted in surprise.
A golden statue now stand. Its horn
Flashing rubies and sapphires above the fog
as it disapears into the purple mist.


Wide and green the meadow stretches
With wisps of purple drifting
Among the golden unicorns,
The silver, shimmery, gazelles,
Frozen, jewel crusted kangaroos.


The entire horizon is filled with the castle.


A low but high pitched trumpet call
Drifts up and out
From behind the high white walls.


Slowly, with a grinding, groaning, screech
A tall gate
Opened.


Prancing, trumpeting, a line of
Coat racks, carved from ebony, snaked out.
Following, carrying banners high,
Two tall long necked green giraffes
With saddles of darker green.
In the saddles,
What a sight,
Pea green poodles with black sequined eye masks.


Rolling behind,
Pulled by a team of giant yellow rats
With red tails held high
Red eyes blazing,
A carriage woven from spider webs.


Gauze floating on wheels of gauze.
A driver.
A grasshopper.
Red waistcoat.
Black boots.
Black high hat.
Silver Buckles on boots and hat.


Another blast from the trumpeters.
They and the standard bearing giraffes
Form ranks.
The carriage rolls forward.


Inside,
Just faintly seen,
Sits the castle's prize.
A king?
Queen?
Despot?
Knight?
Day?


It passes the end of the honor ranks.
They snap to attention,
Turn and float back to the gate
Growing transparent as they go.
Disappearing into puffs of smoke
As they reach the opening in the castle wall.


Passing unicorns, gazelles, kangaroos
No glance
No wave of a magic wand
No scattering of fairy dust.


But with the passing each melts.
Gold turns to honey and disappears below
Leaving just green grass.
Silver too.
And every kangaroo.
All liquid, soaking into whatever hold the grass' roots.
If
There are roots.
If
It is grass.


And then the castle
Shimmers.
Crumbles to dust.
Gone.
Everything gone.
Except a carriage, its team, its driver, its passenger.


Who it is
I did not care.
Why it teases my mind
I did not care.


As it drew close
The driver raised his whip.
Saluted.
Passing I saw glittering the pearly teeth
Of every rat.
Inside
Still unidentifiable,
Still shrouded by the wispy walls,
Unknown.


Turning to watch I found them gone.


What wonders fill the world.
What wonders fill the mind.
What wonders remain to dream.


Beyond . . .

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