The nomad wondered, what went on past the walls.
He whistled away, as he walked toward the falls.
Lost in the silence, what goes on past those walls?
The beautiful bold brick, standing so tall.

Ancient and raw, the withered hand.
Who has no home, and knows no land.
Whose savage way, is to understand.
The crown and the throne, desired by man.

Pale and ghostly, her lips are chapped.
Bark has been torn, her tree has been tapped.
A filthy kingdom, which she can't adapt.
Like dirt beneath her nails, trapped.

"A Joker, a Jester,
Just a Clown?
A Man, a Boy,
A proper noun?
Making drinks,
To water them down?
Holding ice under,
To watch it drown?"

While the nomad wondered, what went on past the walls.
He whistled away, while inside she crawled;
Lost in the silence, that goes on past the walls.
Lost in the silence, that wanders the halls.

Aggressive stood the silhouette
Distant in the night.
Sutured to her shadow
A dark and haunting plight.
Forgotten was the hour
Desolation bereaved.
Consumed by her fears
A beast was conceived.

What's worse then battle
Is one fought alone.
When the lights are all on
But nobody's home.
When the demon that lurks
Is one that's detached.
Mindful yet careless
Improperly miss matched.

The void spreads like cancer
A concrete defeat.
Becoming the snake pit
By tripping over her feet.
Saved by good intentions
But just for a moment.


See, with actions and consequences
You just have to own it.

From a child's eyes
To a child's heart.
Impressions lasting
First one's the start.

Young and innocent
Even more pure.
The smile to a bad day
Sometimes the cure.

An empty vessel
To fill and to mold.
A respectable child
Does as they're told.

Taught right from wrong
Morals are planted.
Posture is straight
Not crooked and slanted.

Religion is introduced
Traditions hallowed out.
Expectations set
No time to doubt.

Captured over time
In the parent's planned future.
Trust earned and lost
Disappointments need suture.

What happens when that child
No longer hears praise?
Repeated in their head
"This is not how you were raised."

When conflict of interest
And what's stood for changes.
When a child's soul is not
Resistant to the turning of ages.

Product of their environment
It's not just what's taught.
It's every lie and hardship
That they've ever bought.

The bruises the tears
For some the neglect.
Do they become the examples
We all forget?

I like to think I'm practical,
With a want for practical things.
But I have a need for variety,
And a whole lot of dreams.

Single doesn't bother me,
It's loneliness that takes a toll.
But with options at my fingertips,
I haven't been alone.

Don't get mad when I move on,
Smile and remember what you had.
The best for you has already happened,
But for me, hasn't happened yet.

"And you will make the dream catcher,
To set above his head?
And can you use these feathers
From the bird we sacrificed instead?"

Two days before, it began,
The horrible visions in his head-
Nightmares had left him paralyzed,
In his sleep, loitering, but dead.
At first he was alive
And as strong as strong could be.
Then a leap of faith
Turned into catastrophe.
A voice, a love, and then the shock.
The pebble broken off the rock.
A lifeless sleep in the face of day
Behind closed eyes in disarray.

And I could hear my heart beat,
The dream catcher may not be enough.
For it seems as though he's seen it all
His life a little rough.
I agreed in helping her;
And my head it wandered fast.
With dread in case this didn't work
The nightmares slipping past.

And when I came, she held his hand.
A woman a drift, yet here on land:
And, though no word was said at all
I knew she knew the plan.
Because her heart was set,
She did not sigh, or moan, or fret.
In fact she hardly wept,
Her love it took a stand.

I gathered the feathers,
Securing them tightly.
Weaving the string in and out,
Ever so lightly.
My hands were stiff
But I kept going.
Despite the fact
Of not really knowing,
If this was going to work.

Her eyes somewhat piercing,
For she hardly blinked.
It made me wonder,
It made me think:
Will I ever love
Like this woman does?
Tangled in another's soul
Just because.

At last I pulled the scissors out
Cutting just below the final knot.
Filled with hope now, not a single doubt,
Because I gave it all I got.

Handing her the perfect dream catcher,
She smiled and then she said,
"Would you mind doing me the honors
Of placing this above his head?"
I cried for her, she had no tears.
Of all my days and all my years,
I've never met a woman more humble
Despite the shift in gears.

I hung it up, just as she asked.
She took a silent, in drawn breath.
Can we save this man lost asleep,
Or will the nightmares be his death?