Happy Birthday, verse # 14 (Alaskan adventure)

Happy Birthday…(Alaskan adventure)

If I could wish a dream for you,
a dream, a wish that would come true,
you’d find yourself in faux fur and hide,
beneath a cold Alaskan sky,
and from behind the dogs you’d go,
through the fields and over snow,
sledding toward the western seas,
finally living out a dream;

And as you sled at quiet speeds,
so as to see the lakes, the trees,
the sun would set, the moon would rise,
but you’d be warm in faux fur and hides,
and as the dogs would rest and eat a bite,
you’d watch the lights in the northern sky,
as shades of green and blue would dance around,
and at times seem to touch the ground;

Through the night the fire would glow,
crackle and pop, keep warm your temporary abode,
but when the morning dawns, you’ll pack the gear,
and as you pack, solar winds you will hear,
speaking in words understood only within
by those traveling this land, exploring Earth’s ends,
and with a gentle crack of the whip, once again you will leave,
exploring new territory to find what else you can see;

You travel through Anchorage, Fairbanks and more,
all on your way to the western seaboard,
through whiteouts and blizzards and lots of deep snow,
yet westward you dream and so westward you’ll go,
but you’ll stop in Denali to see what is there,
to see if you’ll eye wolves or a moose or a bear,
and you’ll study McKinley, how the sun glistens the snow,
but be on your way for you have far to go;

Along freezing miles, through snow and through ice,
you travel along and study this time,
an era much earlier from where you belong,
an era known to you only through stories and song,
and in quiet hours as time passes by,
you remember the stories of explorers and mines,
and with gratitude you smile up to the sky,
and breathe in your chance to relive this time;

Across the mountains and across the plains,
across the snow and rivers and lakes,
then resting again to pay respect to the past,
you take heed of this beauty and listen at last,
to the silent stories told by the mountains and then
you take them to heart, these lessons, and then,
you close your eyes, let them show you the scene,
of the earlier times and the struggles they’ve seen;

The mountains will tell you of all who have come
along this trail with their precious serum,
and the water, now ice, will point out the road
used by those who came searching for gold,
and the endless fields of snow will join in,
telling you silent stories of land
explored and settled by those from afar
who came searching for hope or for gold or for hearts;

You inhale the knowledge and breathe in the day,
then you prepare once again to be on your way,
rested and warmed in the light of the sun,
with these hardworking dogs, you’ll be back on the run,
a silent respect for the undisturbed snow,
this undisturbed land, this beautiful road
that sits all alone in the warmth of the sun,
enjoying life with his friends, the land, water, mountains;

Traveling by day and resting at night,
you sled over snow, led by the light,
as westward you travel, to Anvil City you go,
to see Norton Sound, to search for some gold,
to search for a dream, more within than without,
to search for a chance, for new beginnings you scout,
to have an adventure, one to remember it’d seem,
this snow, this land, this travel your dream;

And when you begin to feel the spray of the sea,
hear the cry of an animal hid behind trees,
when you begin to see the cabins about
and hear miners exclaim, “Tis gold that I found,”
you’ll settle the dogs into their temporary abode,
with pans and patience, search through fields made of gold,
and with the sun in your hair and mud beneath nails
you’ll search for the treasure in buckets and pails;

Time will pass on and adventures you’ll know,
hiking, fishing with new friends dreaming of gold,
then, after time, with the season near o’er,
when your heart has grown weary and the dogs have grown bored,
at the end of the day you’ll glance down at the pan
and see flecks of gold amongst dirt and some sand,
through buckets and buckets as the night will wear on,
you’ll find more and more gold, the challenge you’ve won;

As the sun rises, excited you’ll be,
having found the gold, having lived the dream,
and with your new friends you’ll celebrate soon,
and share of the wealth, there’s enough for them too,
and the dogs will receive the greatest feast all around,
enough for all of the dogs in the little Anvil town,
and the water and mountains around you shall see,
to later recite to others who come here in search of a dream;

In a gentle howl of the wind you will hear,
a gentle reminder that you don’t belong here,
not in this era of stories and song,
no, sadly, this era is not where you truly belong,
so with a hug and a wave, you’ll say goodbye to your friends,
put on your coat, harness the dogs again,
and you’ll travel with the magical dogs from behind,
and slip through the veil, back to this time;

Then you’ll awake as if from a dream,
yet, inspired, somehow, from your journey it’d seem,
you’ll see the fur in the corner and a dog on the floor,
and wonder if somehow, you’d really been there before,
in that land made of snow and of ice and of gold,
that land from songs and stories you’ve been told,
and then a big smile will come across your face,
perhaps it was real, your dream of that place.