Little Bunny Goes

Little bunny goes hop hop hop

Groom the dream, my dear

The sunrise is arriving

Inside, the windows locked

And the door is slightly open.

There’s a space behind

It’s dark and full of shadows;

That place where, at morning, the hallway resides

Is, at night, not there.

Keep the door locked

Locked tight;

And keep it locked twice

And three if you can.

One night you might forget—

One of these locks;

But as long one’s still in place,

Everything but some specks would keep away.

Little bunny goes hop hop hop

The rain thumps mighty

Loud against the shutters;

It lulls you to sleep, and the exhaustion

Forgives you your holds.

Sleep tight, my dear

The sunrise would come running;

Sleep and dream and think,

There’s nothing to be done now.

When they ask you a question

Answer, but slyly;

Yet not too much, so that they see

The texture of your smiling.

Talk, and tell me your heart

Tell me your dreamings;

Wake up with some black pieces of strings

On your bed, on your bed, in your sheets.

And the covers by the wall.

Little bunny goes 

Hop hop hop

Heartbeat goes running, running, running in your chest

But the hours are getting tighter;

Cover yourself up, keep yourself warm

You don’t need the light, you’re not a kid anymore.

Go to sleep, 

Exhaustion keeps you dreaming

Dreaming of tomorrow, and of yesterday,

And of a past yet to have begin.

Sit down on the bench,

By the tree, its leaves are orange

And purple, they sit

Right beside you, head low.

The mutters are barely audible,

But you feel them in your veins;

You lean closer to hear better

The sound their silent lips, that they make.

Head shifts closer, sound by your ear

They ask you a question, so answer

Answer truthfully.

Lies are like sand

They stick in your shoes forever

And when the sand overflows

And flows and flows and flows

It would become this blemish,

This blemish on your foot soles.

Wake up, there’s sand in your pillow.

Little bunny goes hop

Hop hop

It creaks,

Creeeeeak, creeeeeeeak, creeeeeeeeeak

Tap, tap, tap.

You’re sleeping, alone in the bed

And the window creaks as the wind

Nudges it open, a fraction.

It’s fine, though; it’s quickly pushed back closed.

Little bunny goes hop hop

Hop

The field is growing golden, 

Overhead the sun sheds its lighting

Your feet are bare, and the grass is soft and pleasant.

Sit down in the center

The center of the wheat of the circle;

Eyes closed, chin high, the wind blowing in your hair 

Like a promise.

Little bunnies are running around you

Hopping, hopping hopping

Hopping and hopping, running all around.

One sits in your lap.

It’s small, and it’s fuzzy

Fuzzy and white and so cute, like a cookie.

Little bunnies go hop hop pop

Pop, and when you look down, you’re all alone.

Little bunnies go, hop hop hop

Hop, hop, hop

Into the pit in your stomach.

Little bunnies go, hop, hop, hop,

The sun is rising up

It’s rising up, the sunlight on the wheat strands;

It looks like pure gold, in the grass.

The grass, it’s littered with little black strings

Little black strings

Fluttering ‘round in the wind;

You can hear knuckles tapping

On your bed framing.

Tap-ta-tap, tap-ta-tap, tap-ta-tap-tap;

The knocking soft, and quiet, and reverberating.

You can feel them, crouching by the bed

Head tilted, just a bit

Watching you adream.

Dreaming of bunnies, aren’t you?

Running in golden fields

And the sunset is rising, the sunset comes running

Running to give you a farewell, my dear.

The door is open, to just a creak

And you’ve known it for a while;

And yet every time you come back home, the exhaustion

Keeps forgiving you your time.

Little bunnies go running in the field

They go running, hop hop hop

Little bunnies, they go running

They come running, hop, hop hop.

Sleep well, my darling

For tomorrow is so long.

© Michal Rotko

Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash