Dinner with Children

Tentative steps on foreign ground
Fifth king of Thailand
In a crimson shrine
They cede the right to me

I lead them to the place I love
Subtle fire in a seed pod
Guide in foreign wilderness of taste
Subtle flavor with fiery breath

Young enough to follow
Where their elders lead
Trusting faces, surprised
When I have lead astray

Guardian protector
Alone outside the circled huts
Crouched in aeons-old leaf mulch
Watching that they might be safe

Not the shape I choose myself
Wolf, yes, but alone
Packs never mine to join
I prefer to walk the distant paths
Far from ties that bind

But once again they follow me
In simple, trivial ways
I cannot turn away
and yet
It's not the role I want to play

Please link, don't copy.
This work is Copyright (c) Mike Fletcher 2002