This Dream
This dream leaves a residue
that doesn’t wash off
like a phantom assault
perpetrated in the dark
when no one is watching
It’s a dream that leaves an imprint
like an unexplained bruise on flesh
A dilemma that doesn’t exist
but finds its way under my skin
It hints at a double life
with vaguely remembered parts
like an early childhood trauma
teased out and then erased
It’s a curious thread
with a dead end
like a loved one lost
living fine without me
like a morning hangover
with a black-out message
I wrote to myself
but can’t read
__________Colleen Redman / Poets and Storytellers United
October 6th, 2023 12:12 am
like a morning hangover
with a blacked-out message
I wrote to myself
but can’t read – love that.. exactly the feeling of a dream you feel but don’t remember!
October 6th, 2023 12:24 am
with a blacked-out message
I wrote to myself
but can’t read
Wow love it.
Your poem describes exactly how I wake up sometimes. Love ‘phantom assault’ and maybe we do have a double life and are not supposed to know
October 6th, 2023 5:21 am
Exquisite
October 6th, 2023 6:36 am
I love the mood of this piece. Haven’t we all felt this mysterious haunting feeling of something there, a mere whisper behind the unseen.
October 6th, 2023 7:34 am
I can recall dreams I’ve had like that. Its feels jarring to wake up and parse out which bits belong to reality and what was just a dream.
October 6th, 2023 7:52 am
Powerful imagery!
October 6th, 2023 1:38 pm
“It hints at a double life”
Isn’t that true of every dream ever dreamt? I enjoyed the air of mystery in this piece…
October 6th, 2023 3:57 pm
“It’s a curious thread
with a dead end”
Perfect line
October 6th, 2023 7:46 pm
A beautiful poem … I lost someone I treasured a few days ago, a huge part of my life decades ago. Loved one lost, I am not living fine without knowing he is here on Earth.
October 12th, 2023 4:05 pm
I’ve been there, but I’ve never to explain it so clearly. There is a sort of echoing unease that comes with that kind of experience, a scent we can’t quite hold on to… but it still tickles our mind’s ear.