Moats

Moats

In my childhood I was a fervent 
worshipper of the tiger...--Borges

Sometimes dreams of the tyrant
encompass wild beasts like bears,
lions, elephants, and tigers because battle
seems to glow with their fury.

Truth must liken itself to dreams
like this though tyrants aren't visionaries,
and their hopes never include common
people who desire dreamless sleep.

Tyrants inspire nightmares spiked
with firecrackers and fathomless tarns
shadowed by mountain peaks that host
tunnels and caves and redoubts.

What castle was built to shield
peasants? What keep holds a school
to foster toddlers? How many moats
encircle a farmer's fields?