Bio
H.L. Dowless is a national & international academic / ESL Instructor. He has been a writer for over thirty years. His latest publications have been two books of nonfiction with Algora Publishing, a fictional novel by Atmosphere Press, and fictional publications with combo e-zines and print magazines; Leaves Of Ink, CC&D Magazine, a novel with Atmosphere press, Short Story Lovers, The Fear Of Monkeys, and Frontier Tales. He recently signed three contracts with Pen it Publications.
The author has enjoyed a lifetime of outdoor activities from big game hunting, camping, fishing, and trapping, to archaeological field work in various exotic locations. What he enjoys most of all is meeting freedom loving, interesting creative people, who are also regular dedicated fans of his publications.
Trigger Warning
Last night I dreamed I closed my eyes forever.
I tumbled far through glittering specks of light
And bottomless tunnels deep.
The endless sleep was such a magnificent pleasure,
Where I was
No more thieving villains creep,
No more gathering of dark clouds,
No more stormy weather.
Not being tortured anymore by insatiable desire,
And overwhelming needs;
Not existing by no time-clocked hour,
In and of itself is sweet heaven to me.
Still
I was happy,
So cheerful
If only you could have seen.
Then
I was not aware of time nor space,
I feared not following any ready-made trails,
Or leaving any trace.
There were no insurmountable situations for me to avail.
There is no command for any person to believe,
I needed no unbridled luxury
Or saving grace.
I bore no need for money,
No compulsion for love,
Or any sacred angelic company.
There was nobody down below
Or up above.
Nobody was nearby demanding something.
There was no more tension or grueling misery.
No more deep regret
for being born into the wrong era of human history.
If only when I lay down
The darkness of night could continue on indefinitely.
Deep inside my heart I dread the light
Of the day.
Reverently I sing this song
Speaking of the truth so respectfully.
There
Inside this place exists not time,
There is no magic age.
Then the earth could continue
With me slumbering in peaceful eternal oblivion.
The traumatic national fall,
The economic depressions,
The great wars,
The coming authoritarian transgression,
The lacking of opportunity,
The death of Lady Liberty,
The long-prophesied citizen disunity,
The horrendous political lies,
The numberless disappointed human eyes;
Could all carry on.
I suffer not,
I fear not
For what I’ve got.
I slumber on totally unaffected,
Without any prospect of being rejected.
Oh,
Its you,
the living
I somehow find a way to cry-for.
You exist from day to day,
Throughout secular life’s way,
With so many pied pipers around to pay,
Not ever knowing what tomorrow holds in store.
All of you are destined only to suffer,
Whilst I lay perfectly still entombed in my infinite recovery.