dream time

for OT's contest

My dad wanders in and out of my dreams.

The conversations are better than I ever remember.

He says stuff to me now.

 

Apparently being dead does bring wisdom.

We were watching a flood, him and me.

Up home.

Must have been astral travel cause I don't know

how I could have got there.

 

Well, anyway, we were watching the water storm through the yard and the street and the middle of the house.

And I could feel my insides aching to mourn for all the things that I watched float away.

He grinned.

And said "let it go, it's just stuff."

And I ducked my head and wiped away the tears and wondered again

how he got so smart.

Reviews

[Kerry O'Connor]

"Apparently being dead does bring wisdom."

That may just be the line of the day, Emily. Your words found such purchase in my mind, since my dead also visit me in my dreams more often than I like, leaving me with the feeling I've left something undone..

[emmajoy]

Beautiful.

I have precious folk who say 'stuff to me now.'

Those people - all shapes and sizes, a different kind of love felt for each and every one, stay with a person; they have to, else there was no point to knowing them, Emily. Life was made of and in them; now they wrap around us, whispering, stroking, hugging, sharing wise words like, 'let it go, it's just stuff'. And yes, there are a few that leave scars but, we learn from them too ..relationships are definitely enot all smooth running, but ..

You so often remind me of what being human really means.

[J.M.B]

brilliant piece Emily, really like the style, thought and language.

[Brandon S. Whitten]

Thought of my grandfather who had more of a sense of humor than wise words. Yes, I love this poem. I felt a heartstring being plucked.

[Hayley]

"He says stuff to me now." I like how you used "stuff" because it gives the reader more of a general feel of the conversations, an accomplishment in itself, a fool to reality. Then you go to say And said "let it go, it's just stuff." This stuff in our world is all too materialistic. Oftentimes we don't appreciate what we really have. We just need a little wisdom once in a while to make us think. I'm officially blown away by this poem.

[*** Hey Jude***]

What a wonderful expression of real life issues we all deal with on some level. Never the way we "expect". As you show so well in your prose! ~ Jude:-)

[Leslie Philibert]

This is an excellent poem.Love the conversational,Well,anyway, at the start of the third verse,it drags the reader into a kind of intimate relationship,a story for two.
And stuff,a code word that opens up and says a lot about how he was and thought. And a great premise as well,that opens up the poem for lots of ideas.Great.

[bob, small b. aka invs]

i loved this. it reminded me of some of bob dylan's dream songs. there's so much here. layers on layers on layers. like all the best dreams. it's all gold, but two lines alone are worth the price of admission.
"Apparently being dead does bring wisdom", which just makes me smile,
and
"let it go. it's just stuff", probably some of the wisest words i've read. words to live by.
this one's going to my favorites.

[Kenneth The Poet]

This is good.

[...]

"And I could feel my insides aching to mourn for all the things that I watched float away."

. there's so much life in these words ... so much depth ... and so much wisdom ... ultimately it's what we can feel that makes us who we are ... or, maybe, i'm just not good at letting go ...

[Ken Simm.]

I have wondered often about death and wisdom. Not you tell me in such wonderful language.