The Dream

In the dream my brother tells me Love is All

A revelation unfolds in my chest 

A memory made new clothed in his voice

We are crossing a river that carves 

Through a honey-colored canyon 

Of striated sun-drenched stone

A black goat stands in the shallows and watches

As I gather up the layers of my flowing garments

And step carefully through flowing water

That is crystal clear showing every glittering yellow pebble

Ahead of me my younger sister has let her long pants

Drag in the water and I watch it soak its way upwards

There are flat red porous stones floating on the surface

Caught behind a curve in the canyon wall

We have made it to the other side and are gathered 

In a small ravine looking back across the water

In the direction from which we have come

The black goat startles and disappears into the scrub

And my brother is going to dive

I raise my camera and press record

We are gathered on the bank as he leaps

His body parts the water with a splash

Arcs of glass rising from either side of his torso

The water is too shallow and he rises spluttering

He is not hurt and we are all glad 

To have witnessed his courage