While drifting into sleep I often find
My thoughts disperse and wildly run astray,
A thousand divers subjects vaguely play,
Then dance and trifle with my troubled mind.
Soon flashing images and scenes unwind
My true sight fades from muted brown to gray
I chase elusive thoughts along their way
Meandering through dreamy vistas, blind;
Until the fleeting visions disappear,
And blackness closes in around my frame.
I strive to move, to shout, but all in vain
Until a hollow voice pronounce my name,
And ghostly hand throw back the counterpane,
And I awake by virtue of my fear!
(Copyright ©1980 Janice E. Brooks. All rights reserved.)
a pair of silent lovers encounter one another within a dream
maladroit, hesitant, unaware of the behest
unwary playactors on a surreal stage
their maneuvers predetermined by forces incalculable
aware of having met one another once in reality
in aspect more discreet. each follows the other
half desiring the dream to end
that each may awaken alone.
they speak in whispered cadences, sipping on wine
pressed forth from an abundant vintage harvest.
diffident and indifferent to what they represent,
they cautiously accept the inevitable.
two lovers move in silence
certain that their deeds will not change life.
two minds sound out one another, as well they might,
as they prepare for the ascent ...
two casual acquaintances cross paths on the byway
each reflecting on the half-recalled illusion
that once they were lovers
once within a dream.
(Copyright ©1980 Janice E. Brooks. All rights reserved.)