Only a Dream

A 2014 piece. It remains a personal favorite of mine to this day.

Dew falls as tears glisten, stark against speckled glass.

The sigh of bittersweet rain upon translucent panes and vacant orbs of ash mauve,

The heave of enervated hearts and broken dreams.

Staring beyond the crystalline fringes to reveries of procured ambitions

and linking shards that fill the rifts of one's being.

Looking for the enigma with sable locks and virescent irises.

Waiting for him,

The boy that promised they'll be together forever,

The man that never came.

The entity that never existed.

She believed she would come by him,

Stumble across him against the limitations and practicalities of this world,

That destined hearts, bound souls, would find one another despite the odds,

despite the truth.

For he was very much real in the illusions that are dreams,

The mirages of the mind.

The quirk of a smile, the whisper of shifting hair and beating lash,

The tilt of the brow and the cadence of mellifluous timbres.

Tangible idiosyncrasies that billowed from extending hands,

Reachable but never attainable.

Fading away with each day unremembered,

Struggling to recall the contours of the jaw, the wink of the eyes.

Only now, it's all but an evanescent dream of the past,

A fool's wish though she knew in reality it was just that-

A dream.

Author's Note

This was actually the first piece I ever put on Writers Cafe from years back on my old account which I have since deleted. I guess now it's a staple of my writing? Haha :)

Reviews

[RuseInex]

you've taken the ethereal images dwelling in your mind and shared by materializing the intangible to real, graciously bringing to the reader a transport to sacred glimpse into the character's heart, . . . emotions are vivid, . . . even to the setting's outside environment, it's poignant subtlety, brought into the picture, melding together with feelings, temperature, color . . . ash and mauve's effect . . . , Beautiful wistfulness, gorgeous symmetry of your script's prose that tells a story with unusual description, mesmerizing and sad, yet pleasurable to read over and over again.

[Chryiss]

Your review was written so lovely I felt as I were actually reading a poem. I'm glad my poem had that effect. Thank you so much! :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

oh wow, yes, the forever after thing...that kind of love...i thought i would find it...now i imagine i was on a fool's errand...
but you put it so eloquently with your flavorful wording and precise imagery.
nicely done.
j.

[Karmee]

I like your dream, creative and wonderful

[emmajoy]

' Looking for the enigma with sable locks and virescent irises. - Waiting for him, - The boy that promised - they'll be together forever, - The man that never came. - The entity that never existed.'

Beautiful language laid in an amazingly rich manner. Idiosyncratic in need, having to spread sights and emotions together complete with 'full orchestra!' Seems as if looking out from thoughts as sad as sad. Passing through time, part there, part not - even now.

Is it sad to read how strongly your memories and emotions have laid there, waiting for.. a mere dream? Feel as if you've presented this reader with a mystery..

[Chryiss]

What lovely thoughts! You captured the feeling of ambiguousness and longing perfectly. Thank you for reading and sharing your ideas. :)

[emmajoy]

You're welcome.

[Robert Trakofler]

I like your dream! :) I often wonder what is better, the image one places in the minds ideal or the one that faces us? I say this in terms of the tantalizing pursuit of the ideal Vs what is given and here's the rub by way of explanation.... Say we found that ideal, unwrapped the perfect package made to order and shipped to your living room. Would we even truly like it? My guess is i would immediately start forming a new ideal having recognized the follies of my past expectations! i love this i love your word choices and how the mesh into the weave of your story very nice!

[Chryiss]

I like your idea of forming new ideals after recognizing the follies of our previous expectations! Certainly it's the idea of "it's not all that it's cracked up to be." Thank you so much for reading and imparting your thoughts! :)

[...]

Dreams are our perfect reality
Desires with soft wings
Boy cannot became man
Man cannot return into his old form
You created one human touch
Bitter and hopefull
Creative in own existence
One day dreams will stop exist
Cause they all will became
Our perfect reality






P.S My mind probably went just in my direction. But thats how i feel about your poem. I hope you like itg.

[Chryiss]

That was beautiful, thank you~

[h d e rushin]

in a certain way dreams are photographs; a culmination of selfies cataloged in our subconscious. You can't get to the end of a dream without contemplating the images they conjure. And I love the ending...great poem.../dana

[Chryiss]

Interesting thought. After I dream (given that I remember), I always try piecing together why I dreamed those images.. Sometimes, they're age old remembrances from the subconscious..
Thank you for stopping by!

[Mrudula Rani]

Even if it is only a dream, it is breathtakingly beautiful and gives her a reason to expect and hope, pigment of her imagination,...that she had manufactured in all details will materialize some day... in the last couplet she comes to an understanding and accepts her reality.
A beautiful composition. Loved reading your lovely poem, Chryiss.

[Chryiss]

Wishing for that dream to be reality, as you said eloquently..those manufactured details will materialize one day.. but accepting reality.. You've understood my intentions for the poem perfectly. Thank you so much for imparting your time and words! ^^

[Nolo Segundo]

Wow, you have considerable strengths both as a poet and a psychologist ! You'r phrasing and diction work beautifully together and the poem ends in gentle irony, not something easy to achieve.

[Chryiss]

Hahaha, psychologist! That's a first! Thank you, I'm glad you thought so! I appreciate you stopping by~ :)

[VALORMORE DE PLUME]

I admire you for your love of words. Wet panes strain reality. In between the eye and the shimmer, lay the reflection of words not spoken...

[Chryiss]

Oooh~!! I never thought of the shimmer being a reflection of unspoken words, very nice!
Thanks for imparting your words and time for stopping by!

[VALORMORE DE PLUME]

My pleasure.

[Pete]

this is a bountiful buffet of words, imagery, and feeling. was exposed to some words we don't often come across. dreams that never come true can be tough to come to terms with, especially where the heart is involved. you've done an excellent job of describing that difficult reality. there is a harsh, philosophical truth to your words. quite a powerful read. nice job ... :)

[Chryiss]

Hmm, buffet~ I'm glad this had that effect on you, and you're quite right. Not fulfilling, or merely even chasing, one's dreams can lead to longing and regret. Realities are tough. Thank you for sharing your insight and stopping by!