Lion Hunting--DFC 13

_{Hear me read it! Lion Hunting}

I wanted to show you the colors of my dreams,
clasp your hand like I'm going somewhere and whisper
of the roaring lion pouncing prey in my heart.
It sounds like your name during a quiet, breezy sunset,
a handful of almost-forgotten syllables waiting
to haunt me from broken, desperate shadows.

I can't face you with my eyes caught in shadows,
tendrils of doubt snaking to taint my most secret dreams.
It feels hopeless, like I've spent decades waiting
for a change in the tones of us.  For a whisper,
a clamor...any sign that by sunset,
the lion roaring your name will prowl out of my heart.

No, darling, no.  I refuse to loose the whims of my heart
to past mistakes lurking, hungry, in the shadows.
These memories are fading, a washed-out silhouette sunset--
all I want is to live, just for a moment, in my dreams.
I can remember your skin on mine, the quiet whisper
of your fingers in my hair.  It hurts.  I'm still waiting.

And if this is how being broken feels, I'll keep waiting
for you to swoop in and shoo the angry lion from my heart.
If it's between forgetting and rediscovering the feel of your whisper
on the back of my neck, I'll carry your voice into the shadows.
Hold your head high, darling, and I'll hold you in my dreams.
And no, no, this won't be the last sunset

we'll spend apart, but there's a whisper
in the air and if I could, I'd paint this sunset
a brighter shade for you.  Forget about the shadows;
they don't mean us any harm.  I'll stop waiting
for the lion to brave the world if you swear you'll keep my heart
from shattering in the morning.  Yeah, I wanted to show you the colors of my dreams,

but my dreams are just a whisper
next to the sunset of goodbyes, the shadows snaking out again
to keep my heart waiting for you.