In the place where Totoro dances

Find an old country cottage, magic, mysterious

Dust motes dancing in sunbeams

Tread hidden paths through ancient forests

Hold the steady heartbeat of the world

Find a Catbus after dark, wild and wilful

Watch the world rush by in muted shades

Search liminal lanes and secret spaces

With spirit guides and faceless friends

Find the courage, blood-streaked from battle

Chasing castles in the sky, to breathe

Protect gentle souls from raindrops

A smile is everything if you listen

Find someone who borrows books before you

A song only you can understand 

Witch-cursed, young-old, or feather-flown

Love rekindles the flames of forgotten dreams 

What you seek was always inside you

Your own mysterious, magic heart

Find yourself

In the place where Totoro dances


Helena O’Connor is an Australian writer with short fiction published in various anthologies and magazines including Andromeda Spaceways, Kaleidotrope, and Nature: Futures. She likes video games and soot sprites. Twitter: @HelenaFiction 

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