Where I belong

Where I belong

Late one night, while gazing at stars

that blazed like eyes of ancient fire

And trembling ever so slight

from wintry cold and lost desire,

I turned my face up towards that swathe of light,

and asked my King if I would find

A place where I might rest at last.

For not in the citied coast do I find comfort, 

not in its smells, or idols that steal the mind away

from any world beyond its cramped and shrinking borders, no. 

There men dream of better days, like swine in a pen they cramp and lie,

fancying far off exploits of their wild kin until the grimy metal truck arrives,

and they die. 

"I am an animal with no wood," I cry, "save a pleasant city park! 

I rushed from edge to edge and saw

the neighborhood rise up like walls, and it is growing dark."

'Be still,' I heard my Captain whisper,

'And know that you belong with me.

'In this moment cease your shaking and feel at last some certainty.'

'A wanderer I made you, a beast that shies from common roads,

'Blessed or cursed to see no farther than the bend beyond your nose.'

'Listen for my heartbeat child, and find comfort in that endless song,

On any sojourn you are no stranger, 

For by my side is where you belong.