Love Poem: Dream Chaser
Samuel Opara Avatar
Written by: Samuel Opara

Dream Chaser

A dull Christmas eve, still it was better than most.
I’d heard of winter and snow in places far away–
Of cold and frozen waters and rains that fall like powder from the sky–
Of words like mist, soft as a whispered kiss
Escaping from lips–red over a pale impression,
Muttering words of things of the faraway place.

I know not the feeling, only the idea of a place
And whatever feeling it evokes in me the most.
Of these foreign notions, I have not one but many an impression
Of wonder and adventure and ways to sail away
On wooden or metal monsters that beckon the sea its cheek to kiss
In the in-between world of salt water, wind and sky.

Not so here, no snow in this dry harmattan sky.
I’d rather for a change of pace, a change of place.
A place of apples and wine grapes and passions that deepen the kiss–
Of hopes and dreams and wishful thinking for most.
Come hopes! Come dreams! Come insane thoughts and take me away!–
Far away; and in my place leave no impression.

Rid it! On her alone, I made some impression
Of two on a low hill beneath a big grey sky.
Her eyes would haunt me screaming: “Why didn’t you take me, with you, away
To the place we had dreamed–the faraway place?”
Truth be told, she would prove really good–better than most.
Even so, rid me of it, with one final kiss.

A flickering flame snuffed out with a kiss;
Its dying breath trailing a wispy impression.
With that, I lost what it was I wanted the most;
Bartered for the image of a different sky.
Alas, a different time in a different place;
Yet to find a place to stay that doesn’t lead away.

Now, a seasoned drifter wandering away
With tales of wonder and adventure and many a departure kiss–
With yarns of many sights, yet yearning for only one place–
For the place I left, leaving no impression–
A place I must go only after I find the perfect sky.
It was a dull Christmas eve, still, it was better than most.

Now, in a place far away, making many an impression,
Oh, how I desire that kiss, under that same grey sky.
Despite the faraway place, it is what I want the most
(sigh)