Reading “Dream Inventory” at the Little River Poetry Festival
The dream of the animal stuck on my head
The dream of the woman giving me the finger
The dream in which I yell to her “that’s a load of crap”
and the one where I call your name out loud
and it wakes us both up
The dream about dog trainings on how not to kill chickens
The dream about my sister giving me a dress that doesn’t fit
The dream where I walk to Roanoke wearing a kerchief in the rain
and the one where my mother says that I’m trying to claim her
All the dreams about children left in my care
and the disabled baby in the crib
All the dreams of being lost in unfamiliar places
and the cell phone with numbers that float like bubbles
The dream where the woman with black hair and long fingernails
lies when she says good things only happen to good people
The dream where I ask a different woman for directions
I believe her when she says “there are no turns”
“It’s all the same long winding road” ____________Colleen Redman
June 11th, 2017 4:54 am
Those dreams sound chillingly haunting
June 11th, 2017 5:53 am
So many images can be created through your poem. I did enjoy reading it, infact, I read it twice.
June 11th, 2017 7:45 am
The trouble with the road, of course, is that it’s both long and winding.
June 11th, 2017 7:54 am
Well the different woman was right but what’s the harm in exploring a little bit as we all get to the same ending!
June 11th, 2017 8:27 am
Yes Colleen – so true… and love the way you weave so playfully towards your close – a long and winding road indeed!
June 11th, 2017 10:47 am
There is no excuse for dreams…they belong to another world, made of the jumble we experience in this one. One can only guess at their meanings. Too often my dreams are forgotten as soon as I open my eyes…still I image someone filling those dreams in a large archive, all there waiting for your interpretation. Perhaps one rainy afternoon, we get at the job….?
June 11th, 2017 11:29 am
The images in the last stanza hit hard. So very well put.
June 11th, 2017 11:56 am
I enjoyed listening to you reading. Nice!
June 11th, 2017 12:04 pm
Strange the places our brain travels when we’re asleep. Who knew what weird stuff is stored in the attic of our brains? Great poem!
June 11th, 2017 1:03 pm
“It’s all the same long winding road……” That is the truth, and such an interesting and varied journey. I love hearing about all those dreams. Wish I could remember more of mine.
June 11th, 2017 3:28 pm
I really enjoyed your reading and agree that the trouble with the road is that it’s both long and winding.
June 11th, 2017 4:34 pm
That was very nice.
ZQ
June 11th, 2017 7:05 pm
Your poem is definitely the essence of what dreams can be…the varied images that float in and out of one’s mind.
June 11th, 2017 9:57 pm
It is so interesting what we dream about and what that says about us and our environment.. love how you’ve listed them.
June 11th, 2017 11:07 pm
A rich dream life! I thoroughly enjoyed your reading of the poem too.
June 13th, 2017 8:24 am
Perhaps a glass of warm milk before retiring for the night may help?
June 13th, 2017 11:03 am
Wow, I love this.
June 13th, 2017 11:52 am
Mesmerizing poem….and very cool to see you in action!
June 14th, 2017 12:39 am
With dreams like this I would rather be sleeping.
June 14th, 2017 4:24 am
Ah! This mosaic of dreams brings to life the essential condition of being human.
Beautifully done.
June 14th, 2017 9:16 am
I pay more attention to the darker dreams because they inform me as messages from my psyche and I learn more about stuff that is not easily accessible during waking life. All the dreams mentioned had an impact in making meaning out of life.
June 14th, 2017 6:21 pm
“The dream about my sister giving me a dress that doesn’t fit”
I find that line to be especially poignant.