Dreamland

The flowered magenta comforter slides across my face,

Awakening me to the day ahead.

I do not want to be here.

I close my eyes and go back to dreamland,

And the freedom that awaits me.

Darkness, then... I am diving on a coral reef,

Adrift in the hazy sapphire water that surrounds me.

The sunlight filters through,

Highlighting a myriad of hues below it.

The pink coral with its polyps waving,

Gathering microscopic bits of food.

A rainbow parrot fish,

Chomping bites algae off the reef.

A yellow headed jawfish,

Piping in and out of its burrow in the ever changing sand.

I laugh, and bubbles filter up through the sea,

Breaking on the gentle waves above.

Next, I am in the highlands,

The azure skies contrast with the autumn landscape.

I nudge my spirited horse, and off we go,

Galloping over the fields.

The colors of the trees are a blur,

Swirled together in the shades of fall.

I hold on tight and inhale the crisp air,

Letting loose a contrail of breath behind me.

I am free.

I can't stay there forever.

I open my eyes to the muted darkness of my room.

Here's where I will be for the next day, month, years maybe,

Until a cure is found.

I long for happiness and freedom.

I am grateful that my imagination can take me there.

For now, that will have to be enough.