Dreams

             i

Across the cool dirt to your barn

I ride bareback

the horse you tamed for me,

nuzzling thighs,

one beast, one rider,

tandem dreams.

             ii

Running bare

through Montana snows,

cool press of ice

thawing lip to lip,

I fall laughing by the fire

wrapped only in your eyes.

           iii

Casting wild,

the river's cool current

thrills my hands,

it rains, rivulets

taste our skin:

two shimmering trout.

I hold you trembling

in the cool air

prompting gently,

is this what you want?

You whisper catch, release,

swim away, and die.

Mary Bast, Velvet Avalanche (Fall 2006)