Totem
I am searching for my familiar
through orange flowers
while a ladybug traverses my palm
I have had grey hair for over 12 years
special ribbons floating carelessly
giving my head certain qualities
as if somehow it could create a blue-print
for the grey-haired personality
I would possess
I am rolling down green hills
like a laughing child
boys sing their songs
girls smoke their cigarettes
I am searching for my familiar
through sunflower stalks
show me your myths
I'll tell you my fables
oral legends to be repeated
I am red wings bouncing
onto powdery dust
a song without sound
music equally balanced between
a murmur and a sigh
but YOU CAN'T SAY THAT
YOU CAN'T SAY THAT
YOU CAN'T SAY THAT
YOU CAN'T SAY THAT
I am searching for my familiar
through roadside grasses
sourly squinting at scientific reasons
inching toward a memory I haven't had yet
as you rehearse what you don't know to say
but I do
Green feathers will decorate you
ice cream sprinkles and
golden shadows
smile on your lips
to be heard from miles away
over blue dog howls
Lavishly floating in the worlds of your myths
we will huddle close
my fables falling smoothly against your cheek
as we possess our histories
asleep with satisfied minds
knowing that we are very moral
and have learned our lessons
I am searching for my familiar
underneath velvet and satin
I can eat without looking up
I can search without slowing down
and I am not worried
©2000 Lizzie Wann. All rights reserved