On Graduation
Sometimes in my dreams, I am with you
in the midnight of your mind.
There are tigers everywhere.
Don’t be afraid, I tell you. The tigers
have come for you,
but no one knows why.
A door opens.
You are no longer with me.
I am by a lake.
It is as clear as light
and as deep as love.
I can feel you moving beneath
the blue, untroubled surface.
The tigers have all grown still.
They are kneeling at the water’s edge,
waiting for you to rise up
and let them drink of your dreams,
the dreams that are yours alone, that whisper
of another life, that speak to you each night
of a world beyond all knowing, a world
far beyond the savage windows
of their bright, eternal eyes.