they huddle around the fire
the little ones in front
wrapped in animal hides
and mesmerized by the flames
black and bedazzled
is the sky
spotlighting
exhalations of storytellers
reading from unwritten books
soundless nights accentuate
the reality of dreams
projecting and protecting
the history of a people
at one with the earth
december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
Dedicated to Melvin Lloyd Rinehart
August 9, 1953 – January 15, 2014
the stories have grown silent
tucked away in the corners
of a wild imagination
neither asleep nor awake
but simply resting on a shelf
up above outstretched arms
they will never be forgotten
and they will always be true
their beauty down-to-earth
but now ethereal
lying in a perpetual state of
anticipatory retelling
january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
