Edge of the Bed, Edge of the World
For The Road Drops Here Challenge
"You have to dream before your dreams can come true."
I woke with a—
some kind of feeling
in the soles of my feet
as they hit the board at the end of the bed.
The window
to the edge of the room
was beneath me,
for some unknown reason
and I was locked frozen.
wind swept
through my hair
and I felt
a brief moment
of anything but despair,
before I felt the shift.
~
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
Harrowing,
a real character-building
disaster
from the earth and the universe
to me,
but, I don't feel it,
no—
I don't feel anything,
as my limbs start to numb.
Phantom existence?
all I think is hold on.
~
But the pull
to fall
and yield
is stronger than
the compulsion
to fight,
flight is winning.
~
I try to scream
I try to shout
but no words
no sounds
come out.
~
There's a pause
a moment of clarity
where everything
falls into place
as I feel the pull
to drift away
~
I close
my eyes
and wish
for a quick and painful,
whatever is next,
is next,
but then, a shift.
a voice, a calling,
a beacon of something
like hope,
fills my eardrums,
reverberates
around the room,
vibrates and pulses
with life,
a living entity,
as I feel the 180-twist,
the transition.
~
"The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up."
Between
near-death and infinity,
immortality in physical form,
as physics are twisted to bring me
as a nudge on my shoulder rouses me.
I awaken,
not given forth to the earth.
*
Thanks for reading!
Author’s Notes: This is my second and final entry for The Road Drops Here challenge. The Epigraphs/quotes in this poem are from A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Paul Valéry.
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Paul Stewart
Award-Winning Writer, Poet, Scottish-Italian, Subversive.
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Comments (7)
Quite an interesting take on the challenge, Paul. Taking it a bit literally here while also throwing in a bit of the surreal of the dreamscape. I like it. 😊
"The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up." This line jumped out and grabbed me, making me go back to the beginning and reread before moving on. Personally, this felt like a spiritual wake-up call and an inner nudge to listen to the depths of one's being. All the details felt like the signs people often sweep under the rug. Physical living with the freedom found in dreams, if one decides to take the leap. Beautiful work, Paul!
Oh, I'm not sure I understood well. Is this about the moment between life and death, or that feeling when you're mind is awake but you're body is still sleeping and you're snoozing back to sleep?
To sleep a chance to dream.
this really got me thinking of many interesting things... nice job in writing a thought propelling piece
oooo i felt this like the jolt that snaps you awake as you finally drift off. the last stanza reminded me a little of anne carson, the autobiography of red. "when geryon was little he loved to sleep, but even more he loved to wake up."
A fitting entry for the challenge! The point of change has encapsulated and more importantly, felt.