D L Lang

The Northwest
We wandered down 
the Avenue of the Giants,
taking in the endless greenery
until we ran across Paul Bunyan,
riding his ox, carrying his axe, 
destroying trees to build a country.
He said his axe was really hungry.
We hugged the Grandfather Tree,
glad it was spared from destruction.
We become children in the forest,
specks of dust dancing in the breeze,
laughing freely to ourselves,
rambling past the clover
feeling lucky, feeling free,
as the redwoods tower above
in this land of giants.
The streams are rushing past
fueled by endless love. 

What Dreams Danced Here?
Sparkles like starlight on a marble floor.
The echo of an empty ballroom.
Ghosts pirouette under the moonlight.
Laughter ricochets through the air.
Joy bounces beyond time and space.
Faces unlock the gates of history.
Melody lingers in the atmosphere.

Today our souls float upon wild winds of hope,
our hearts beating with the rhythm of our joy.
We have undertaken a great journey of solitude,
and now are free to taste the sweet fruit of unity.
Unity is a bridge built upon acts of kindness.
Community is a garden watered by our love,
each moment fertilizing acres of understanding.
Our feet firmly rooted in our own beautiful cultures,
we extend a hand of peace towards one another,
uplifting our city with song, dance, and togetherness.
May this day’s harmony carry us all far into the future
like the seagulls who soar into the autumn breeze
buoyed by the warmth and solidarity of friendship.

Their words fading into dust.
Never recognized by their towns,
how many great poets
simply go unnoticed?
How many laurels
once destined to be golden
merely rotted on the vine?
There shall always be
scribes with more recognition,
but every poet is a constellation.
Give me a poet 
whose footsteps ring into the night,
wandering these same streets in search of life.
I’ll never sound like the poets I love,
because I learned to love them 
well after I learned to rhyme.
I’d like to fill the shoes 
of those who came before,
but I was born at the end of time.