Shadows & Dust [poetry]

Dream Travels

Once, my astral body danced with

fairies and hid from passing trolls

by blending in with nature and

standing very, very still. Another

night I wandered the rows of a

sacred orchard, plucking 3 large,

green apples. Seated on a

platform beyond the trees was

a goddess and a red fox I knew

was truly a fox spirit. To the

goddess, I said, "The fox spirit

is very important to my family."

"Yes, indeed!" she replied.

I stroked the fox around his

ears. He wrapped his teeth

around my hand but didn't

bite down. A warning against

such familiarity? Then it

was time to return to mundane

reality. I set my intention in my

mind and turned my body as

though walking around an

invisible corner. When I woke,

I wondered if I would've acted

differently had I known I was

dreaming, had my actions been

conscious. Because I've heard

you're not supposed to take

anything from the other plane,

especially not food. And it seems

unwise to treat a fox spirit like a

favored house pet.