It was all so clear
the air
the beach
with sunlight and blue water stretching on
to the horizon
nothing seemed strange
nothing extraordinary
not even the mane
that swept down behind his head
a lion's head but smaller
a good match
for his slender human body
just the two of us
he motioned with his hand
and walked deliberately
into the sea
I followed and discovered
I could breathe
easily under water

At first I kept up
with his steady pace
feet planted on the ocean floor
but at a certain depth
I was too buoyant
too light
to follow in his footsteps
so I turned
back toward the shore

Yet even there
I heard him singing joyfully
a song of victory
resounding through the depths
of time and space
through all the countless galaxies
of this unfathomable
universe and then I woke
with that great hymn still sounding
deep and clear
a distant temple bell
and though with age it's faded
there are times I wake
to hear it still