Chantal's Dream

Beyond the tangled Galinome forest,
at the ocean's edge,
the ruins of a mangled home
lay clinging to the ledge.

A tailor and his gentle wife
had built it all alone.
They cut each log and built each wall
and carved out every stone.

As for their neighbors, there were none,
no other ones had tried
to travel through the Galinome,
for fear they'd lose their lives.

But such were things throughout the land
that humble souls would flee
to corners uninhabited
like this one by the sea.

There once had been another life,
of pomp and circumstance,
Their handiwork bedecked the sons
of greed and decadence.

Their life was interwoven
with the fabric of the day,
but when their daughter, Chantal, was born,
it quickly tore away.

The strands of compromise pulled wide
a dark and ugly hole.
The moral cloth unraveling
perplexed the tailors' soul.

The contrast of their newborn jewel
against her setting clear,
there was but one conclusion, which was,
"Let's be far from here."

Without as much as one goodbye,
they quickly packed their home
and with a kiss and prayer set out
to brave the Galinome.

The Galinome was difficult,
a suffering journey, true.
With bramble thick and jagged cliffs,
they barely made it through.

But in the endless darkness
of the twisted woodland deep,
the mother, with her babe in arms,
would sing the child to sleep.

"Close... your... beautiful eyes,
my precious child so small
And flee the raging storm
in the land of wondrous dreams.

Close... your... beautiful eyes,
and hear the whispering call
That beckons you away,
from your fear and all it's schemes."

While mother's child was slumb'ring
to her calming voice so sweet,
the words consoled her husband
who was upright in his seat.

He nudged the horses when they balked
and kept a steady talk,
to tell them that he trusted them
to choose the path to walk.

They traveled, undetected,
though the evil beasts were there,
within the darkened caverns
of their Galinomic lair.

And thus, they journeyed through the place
that others feared to try
and built a home out on the edge,
between the sea and sky.

For sixteen years, they loved and learned
and lived with just the least
and feared only the awful storms
that came up from the east.

And, oh! The force those storms could bring!
The wind and waves and rain
would shake their home's foundation
till the morning came again.

Then nestled 'tween her parents,
Chantal firmly closed her eyes
And there, amidst the creak of limb and lash,
a song would rise.

"Close... your... beautiful eyes,
my precious child so small
And flee the raging storm
in the land of wondrous dreams

Close... your... beautiful eyes,
and hear the whispering call
That beckons you away,
from your fear and all it's schemes."

And dream is what Chantal would do,
and now that she was grown
her dreams were filled with passionate scenes
from stories she had known.

Of all the dreams Chantal would dream,
there was but one she sought
when in the face of danger
and the fear it often brought.

She dreamed that she was in the Renoir painting
The Ball at Moulin de la Galette.
An outdoor dance, she was in France,
beside a tree she sat.

She'd watch the pastel women
and their black-tied men caress,
as polished boot and leather shoe
passed by her loneliness.

As happy lovers flowed and swayed
she hoped that, just perchance,
a gentleman would cross her gaze
and draw her out to dance.

Each time she dreamed her favorite dream,
it happened, as before,
a tall and strangely quiet man
would come across the floor.

He'd kindly ask if he might join her
at her table there,
"May I enjoy your company,
on this fine night, ma chère ?".

The slightest blush welled to her cheeks,
a strange excitement grew,
Chantal just smiled to greet the man,
and said, "Monsieur, please do."

Just like each other time she dreamed,
the man would sit and say,
"Please tell me all about yourself.
What brings you here today?"

Chantal would tell about the storms,
or other fears she had,
and listen to her noble friend say,
"Things are not so bad."

"Chantal, there are so many things
that life can bring our way.
But we are called to rise above
the dark that clouds our day."

"For, if you have the Light within,
then you cannot be bound,
and there is not a devil
who can hold to you the ground."

"But now it's time to laugh not cry,
this is no place for dread.
Please come, my darling, take my hand
and let us dance, instead."

They danced and glided all around
the floor like drifting snow.
With gazes locked, they moved as one,
this dreamer and her beau.

And when the final melody
had dragged its notes to cease,
Chantal and he who led her so,
stood still in their embrace.

Of all the marvels in her dreams,
Chantal would long for this...
the moment when she closed her eyes,
awaiting her first kiss.

With such a great anticipation,
she would wait, but then,
the morning sun would warm her face
and waken her again.

But something deep inside of her,
just what, I cannot say
would keep a flickering hope that he would
come to life someday.

The tailor and his wife had never
planned to leave their home
to travel to the town they fled
beyond the Galinome.

But when a storm of strange degree
had caused much damage there
they had to leave to trade some things
to finish the repair.

With nostrils flared and churning hooves,
the noble steeds gave rise
to flee from the invaders
as the whites flashed in their eyes.

But many were the savage horde,
ascending Calvar's Hill
With demon chant, from cauldrons deep,
"To steal,
destroy
and kill!"

Upon the gentle travelers,
they let their fury fly
until the anquished sound,
a mother's fading lullaby.

Chantal could not find sleep that night, though oh, she struggled long till in the waning hours, she recalled her mother's song. She rose and sat upon the stool to play her clavecin, But, half way through her song, the cottage door came bursting in. The wicked ones had found her, they had sniffed the trail well and one by one, with brutal force, they danced their dance from hell.
At first she fought, but worse it brought, so finally she fell. She closed her eyes and whispered out the song she knew so well. "Close... your... beautiful eyes, my precious child so small." She felt the cold brutality, as each new blow would fall. "And flee the raging storm in the land of wondrous dreams."
And, soon the pain was fading and she rose a bit, it seemed. "Close... your... beautiful eyes, and hear the whispering call." And with the evil venom, Chantal's life drained out as well.
Through tears, as lovers passed and smiled, she stared across the floor, and longed to see the gentle man who'd always come before. And then she heard the voice she loved, from right behind her chair, "May I enjoy your company on this fine night, ma chère ?"

"But oh, my dear, you're crying!
What's troubling you today?"
With gentle touch
on lifted chin,
he wiped the tears away.

Chantal tried hard to tell about
the beasts from Galinome,
and there are things that need be said,
but others, only known.

And when he saw her suffering,
he took her trembling hand
and drew her to his arms and said,
"Chèrie, I understand".

"Chantal, there are so many things
that life can bring our way.
But we are called to rise above
the dark that clouds our day."

"For if you have the Light within,
then you cannot be bound,
and there is not a devil who can
hold to you the ground."

"But now it's time to laugh not cry,
this is no place for dread.
Please come, my darling, take my hand
and let us dance, instead."

Again, they glided all around
the floor like drifting snow.
Their gazes locked, they moved as one,
The Dreamer and The Beau.

And when the rousing melody
had dragged its notes to cease,
Chantal and he who led her so
stood still in their embrace.

Of all the marvels in her dreams,
Chantal had longed for this...
She closed her eyes
and held him close
and cherished
her first kiss.

The touching of her lips to his
sent shadows on the run.
And left Chantal a wondrous warmth.
Was it the morning sun?

But, this time, when she looked again,
her eyes met not the day,
but looked into the soul of him
whose love took her away.

And then, he said, "Chantal, you aren't
the only one, I say,
who's come to us to join in this
eternal dance today."