Digital Scholarship

The Cave of Hypnos: Early Poems

The Yellow Brick Road

Charles W. Bailey, Jr.

I never lived in Kansas,
but in 1966 I met
the Wicked Witch of the West.

"The world is a dream
refracted in billions
of eyes," she said.

Taking a diamond
out of her belly button,
she held it to the sun,
"See."

Treading water
in the Sargasso Sea,
I notice that
the North Star has
gone out.

Dorothy, where are you?

I have been calling for years.

Soon my bright eyes
will be mirrors
for fish to write
cryptograms on.

Goodbye, Emerald City.

Like all dreams,
you can only
shallow us whole.

Copyright © 2012 by Charles W. Bailey, Jr.

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The Cave of Hypnos: Early Poems