From deep slumber my body awoke still drowsy in dreams now fading.
The scent of maple on hotcakes stirred my tastebuds
As the crackling fire carried me away, my senses evading
The wakeful bliss I almost tasted seconds ago.

I rolled in my bunk bed with that familiar wood creaking
From the weight of my body too large for the bed's small frame.
The smell of wool mingled with lavendar filled my nostrils
So I lavished there for a moment to savor, my senses tame.

The lavendar and wool tempted me to prolong my slumber
While the essence of maple aroused me from my bed
My mouth watered over the memories of Mom's hotcakes and eggs
Yet the trip to the outhouse amidst shadows and snakes, I dread.

I shivered in the early morning chill yearning to sit by the fire
That Mom always had burning hot for breakfast in our vacation cabin
So I slipped on my robe and dashed out to greet the morning spirits
Who linger just after dawn, waiting to taunt me with great chagrin

Cold and ancient elements melded to form the stone
That rests atop a lonely mountain peak, a jutted steep incline
Impossible to cross on foot without a climber's rope
Winds sheer the rock face sculpting a jutted edge then a line
An evolving work of art stands on the mountain high on display
With my heart trapped deep inside that ancient rock.
I cry out to the universe to set my spirit free from this place.
To the gods I pray chisel my heart free from the stone.

My eyes grow weary and to sleep, I succumb
From me, the faded thoughts relent
The scent of Astoria still fresh in my mind
Though in the field I lay down, body spent 
Lobelia flowers cast their magic spell on my limbs
Sleep falls swiftly as I drift within the mist of dreams. 
The scent of Wisteria intoxicates  my senses
As the Mist moistens my chilling flesh.
Velvety blankets of Kilarney moss embrace me
As I rouse slowly from my herbal slumber.

The sunlight is filtered through the tall oak trees
Giants that rival the trees of Scarborough's Shire
At the meadows edge the tall shadowy figure lurks
Bent on knees against the moss laden ground.
Mused and startled both at the same time
My breath rises in cloudy vapors, my heart aligns
Restoring balance to my shivering scant clad frame.
  

   
   

My thoughts turn to you these days more often than I care to say. I remember all the good times that are mere faded memories now. I long for the laughter that we all shared back then as one big happy family. The days are long gone, the memories are fading and some of you have moved on to an eternal place that I only visit in dreams. Even knowing this, the longing does not lessen in my aching heart. I miss you Mom and Dad, Grandpap, Grandma, and all my Aunts and Uncles who were the center and heartbeat of my family in those years long ago. I reach for you and those memories when I need the strength of family bonds. The distance between now and those memories and eternity grows further with each passing year, so I reach higher and further until I find you. And there you all remain in the bosom of my heart, right where you left your love indelibly inscribed upon my heart.

The Midnight Writer

Sonya's silk stockings were torn from the ankle up. She got caught on some old wire fencing as she was running through the field. When she fell, Sonya barely felt any pain even though her knee hit a small rock. The blood was scant so she wiped it away and kept running. The night air was moist and quiet except for the sound of her hard panting breath. Sonya could feel them closing in on her so she sped up her pace, and her breathing.

The night was young so the moon was not yet risen. It's light filtered through the mist across the field creating eerie shadows that chilled Sonya's spine. She expected them to jump out from these ghostly specters at any second. Half way across the field, Sonya's knee began to throb. Needles shot up her leg into her lower spine that almost sent her reeling to the ground again. Knowing that they were closing in, Sonya did not succumb to either the pain or the fright of shadows.