Interpretation

In my mind
during sleep
the night
before last

I am searching
for the dog I lost
in the winter woods
calling everywhere
and running the banks
deep with snow
curling like a full lip
over the dark and fast river
which slides itself
so fluid
around slick black rocks
and a pressured tangle of roots
and branches
and the occasional man-made jewel
of a bobber, or sand-filled plastic bottle, or the
red ring
of a milk cap

the river pulls down at
the interruptions
then rises
and my voice falls away in the gorge
no long reaches here
to hold it

what does it all mean
something lost
a fruitless search
static barrier banks of snow
so hard to move through
in absolute proximity
to facile movement, and ease
though this too inaccessible
in its cold
and slippery
and snarled way

am I the lost
or the seeker
the barrier
the voiceless
or the bright red ring

maybe it means something
the dream itself
a puzzle
with wisdom
as its prize
maybe nothing
just a feel
and a vision
unrelated artifacts
self-germinated
sleeping entertainment

and maybe
it is none of these
symbols
outliers
meanings
and distractions

it is
just the dog itself
sensible enough
to leave
after too much time
in an inhospitable
and narrow place
and find a way home
to a warm bed
and food
and the surprised and
affectionate voices
the gentle touches

of welcome home.