Mountain Dreams

Poetry by Warren D. Adkins

August 1966

Vol. 1 No. 11, page 20–21

Originally published in the August 1966 issue of Tangents

Little lonely soul!
You are the symbol
Of my favorite dreams
That carry me from an office window
Into the haze of October’s burning leaves
At dusk.
Your memory stirs a longing
That takes me out upon dark roads
Through little
Lonelytowns
That sit upon the highways
Near wilderness
Bleak and empty.
I stand beside a bridge
Where cars pass quickly by
And gaze at twinkling lights
From homes
Warm and secure
Nestling on the mountainside
Where 1 cannot go.
I turn instead to other lights:
A lonely bar
A mountain tune.
A cold breeze stirred by
Forgetfulness
Makes me shudder.
I pull tight my coat
And through the wooden door I go
To sit and drink with folk
Who laugh and sing
Mountain tunes.
And then I wonder if you too are in
Some small town
Where you may wander and talk
Friendlychat
To pretty girls
And quaint old ladies
Seated in the park. Or if in
Some small shop
With flowers all around
Arranging
As best suits your taste
The beauties sprung from
Common earth.
I wander once again
Through the wooden door
And on the darkening highway
I go,
On and on and on
Lost in your domain.
And now on weary feet
The darkness blacker now
I look through Autumn’s chilly haze
To see the moon:
And then I am contented.
My weariness is gone.
Its white and peaceful beams,
I know,
Shine somewhere too
On you.
They light your road
To some glad rendezvous
Where laughter
And happy hearts
Surround you,
Making you
Smile.

—Warren D. Adkins

©1966, 2018 by The Tangent Group. All rights reserved.