Dream a Little Dream

Dream a Little Dream

By

Nathan Caleb Camerer

I have a dream

Not a Martin Luther King kind of dream

I don’t want to be assassinated

It’s a “Raising Arizona” kind of dream

There’s no baby snatching

There’s no leather clad, Harley riding bounty hunter

There’s no escaped convicts

It’s you and I

We sit at a table

The table begins to grow

The distance between us gets greater

Not because we are drifting apart

Because of the love between us

Love in the shape of children

Children who give us grandchildren

Grandchildren who give us great-grandchildren

Our shapes begin to change

The time that passes is written on our face

The table has grown a mile long

The love between us that immense

I can still see your eyes

Even across all this mahogany

The fire for each other stills burn bright

Then you’re gone

Laid to rest

Then we are together again

Reliving all the good times for eternity

Welcoming each one of our offspring as they slowly join us

I had a dream

Just last night

I had been driving forever

I finally reach my destination

Dirty and tired and hungry

You ask me what I’m doing there

I come baring gifts for your little monkey

I explain how I drove like a banshee

Wanting to deliver the birthday presents on time

You seem genuinely happy to see me

Introductions all around to a hundred unfamiliar faces

The new me is polite but protective

More adults than children

Copious drinking

A handful of bars within spitting distance of the backyard

Your behavior becomes restrained

An unknown and unseen force is holding you back

The feeling that something is wrong

It’s crushing me

Inarticulate speech

Slow movement

Realization that this is a dream

I must wake up

Daylight comes

The dream is over

I have a dream

I’m the male version of Maria

I’m riding a train

The trains destination is unknown

Every stop represents another year, another birthday

Some are bright and cheery

Crowded with people

Some are dark and dreary

Deserted

The time spent between platforms is endless searching

Walking up and down the train

Jumping from car to car

Searching for someone

I don’t know who it is that I’m looking for

I must find them before the last stop

A new platform is fast approaching

Will it be full of life?

Will it be as quiet as a windless and moonless night?

Will I find who I’m looking for?

Can my dreams come true?

Do you have dreams?

All I have are dreams

Tread softly

For you tread on my dreams