Festival's End

Sleep on a little longer yet.Let not the day confront my eyes too soon.Still let me gaze a little whileon stolen shared serenitythat once was our possession as of right.And let me warm myself once moreon dying embers of the flamesthat once burned incandescent in your soul.Sleep on a little longer yet.Permit me one more time to stand and gazeon blood red cirrus cloudsand gliding gulls on mourning winds;poetic swan songs let me pen a while.Collude with me in self deception stillthat you will want to read the words I write.Sleep on a little longer yet;until the morning steals the silhouettesof castle walls and towering cliffsand splashes careless colours on the day.Allow me to believe a moment morein fairy tales and magic spellsand dragons slain by power of truthand love that lasts eternally;at least until the city wakesand traffic noise burns off the transient night,till morning shines on towering cranesthat flaunt their rule on building sites,and in aggressive self importancebreak the flowing metre of the sky line.Sleep on a little longer yet.Let not the day affront serenity too soon.Still let me stand a moment and pretendfrom vantage point of elevated peacethat Edinburgh still dances highland jigsand gives itself to passion and to play,postponing summer’s end another day.Let joyful songs still resonatewhile juggling buskers toss my thoughtsand catch my soul with elegancethen stop a while to bow for my applause.Sleep on a little longer yetFor once again I weave my waythrough winding lanes within my mindbetween the players and their audiencesuncertain in my dream of which I am.For once a time I knew myselfa leading actor on your cast,but foolishly have yielded centre stage.And now I stand by ticket boothsto count love’s coins and just affordthe cheapest pass to lowliest seat;and thus take a spectator’s placeto watch the story of your life unfold.Sleep on a little longer yetAnd, resolute for now, I shall pretendand fool myself another lifetime morethat morning does not summon you,the Festival has time to runand we are not in Edinburgh on borrowed time.