Any time now, the alarm
Clock that’s melting
And running off the bed-
Side table like candle
Wax will go off
Just as you reach
Over to turn
It off and try
To go back
To sleep.
.
Any time now
But not this time—
That burnt-out
Dream you’re stuck in
Won’t let you go back
To sleep again.
Any time now
ReplyDeleteBut not this time—
The conditional and the promissory, always such portent-laden realms...
This brace of lines kept bringing me back to read again, and again, until I almost felt I'd been in this place before.
Portent laden is right.
ReplyDeleteBeing what is politely described as a light sleeper, this one hit a nerve.
A recurrent dream/nightmare I first had years ago when I was a grad student at the University of Washington—I would always dream I awoke and try to turn off an alarm clock that strangely enough had started melting as soon as I touched it; the really strange thing is that whenever I saw the dream over the years, it would always be the same but the venue would change according to where I happened to be sleeping at the time, so I have the feeling that I was actually awake during the dream rather than dreaming it. BTW, I haven’t seen it for years.
ReplyDeleteFor many years I had a somewhat similar experience of a recurrent dream/nightmare which originated in my curious Cold War era ROTC career. I was the world's worst soldier, and the anxieties re. inspections -- the shining-up of the brass, the spit-polishing of the shoes, the cleaning of the rifle -- haunted my nights for a long time afterward. I'd awaken bolt upright in panic, worrying about the lack of gleam on my uniform buttons.
ReplyDelete