When I Was

by Mario Milosevic

When I was a bear

I filled the world.

My paws were wide,

and I walked large.

I ate all summer

and slept all winter,

dreaming of the time

when I was a dragonfly

and I wove the world.

Darting through air,

skimming over grass,

hovering on water,

my compound eyes

embroidering my dreams of the time

when I was a turtle

and I carried the world.

Walking slowly with the weight,

squat body on four thick legs,

hard shell holding me in,

keeping my dreams of the time

when I was a salmon

and I fed the world.

Sleek skin sliding down river throats,

pink flesh nourishing my cousins.

I swam upstream,

where death took me

and I swallowed my dreams of the time

when I was a tree

and I held the world.

Roots gripping soil,

branches embracing sky,

my vision

encompassing dreams of the time

when I was a raven

and I sang the world.

Single note struck from my throat,

pushed into air,

the sound a call to listen

to the unseen

and honor my dreams of the time

when I was a bear;

when I was a dragonfly;

when I was a turtle, a salmon, a tree;

when I was a raven.