James Moore Poet Narrative

Notes About The Poem

Loyal to the Last

(“Loyalty Merit Badge”, 2010, original oil)

Loyal to the Last

In a dream I travel
Some journey of unknown length or destination.
It’s all good at the start
And then quickly becomes harder
A stalled engine, dirty windshield without fluid,
A narrowing road, reduced visibility,
A rocky mountain track where I’m forced
To carry the bicycle 
My vehicle has become.

But as I go on and deeper into my solo trek 
I still have my trusting pack of dogs
Who eagerly follow 
Even as the trail becomes a narrowing ledge
Above the steep drop to a river below
Until eventually it’s all I can do to hang on
As I reach on tenuous holds to the final step
My bike and canine companions abandoned
Behind the last bend.

Dreams if nothing else 
Give us snap shots of our mind
Overviews and magnifications of where we are
In a life’s journey that has included
Both the dreamer and his ever morphing dream.
But in the end the dream ends
And all that’s left is the dreamer
And the memory of those companions
Loyal to the last.

(11/8/24)

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