Dreams
A Poem
They speak to me in dreams. I talk back to them. Sometimes in languages I do not know. In languages I cannot speak when awake, Fluent I am told, Like a native of that tongue. Sometimes they appear as animals. I often fear them, Fields of snakes. Tigers. Spiders. The lynx. My legs have been severed by sharks. Sometimes I am trapped, Or wading through deep snow. Looking for a way out, An end to the endless path. An escape route. There never is one. Great hammers of industry, The size of buildings, Bright yellow. Persistent. Courage. Keep going, Keep hammering away. Sometimes, I am naked on stage. I have not learned my lines. Stage fright plagues my dreams, And filters through to my waking hours. Does this ever change? © Gavin J. Chalcraft
"Sometimes, I am naked on stage.
I have not learned my lines."
Ah ... that one. For me the dream's not having revised for, or even attended the lectures for, my final university exams. In reality I did, and passed. It's still a recurring dream 50 years on. I'm still wondering what it represents. Perhaps the fear of not having grasped more fully the gift of life - and having to 'explain myself'.