Climbing over the stile,
my dream that seemed so simple
suddenly collided with
everyone else’s waking world.
Why must those creatures left behind me
be despised, and how is this dreaming
man transformed? Who prodded me over?
Who welcomed me in this new world?
Our lives are often seen
as a waste, weighed down
by all that went before. Each day
we cross over and into a strange new meadow.
Land easy, you who so desire,
Even if your dreams descend to fire.
Jack Hopper writes poetry mostly, and edits scholarly material as well as fiction. He founded Works: A Quarterly of Writing (1967-74) and has published four collections of poetry, most recently Rafting the Medusa: Poems 2013-2018. He served twice as Tompkins County Poet Laureate, cofounded and edited Cayuga Lake Books, and lives in Ithaca, NY.
