A Dream (How I Could Live)

His questions are answered by a dream...

"Do you think of me? Do you dream of me? I always dream about you..." - "How Can I Live?" - Ill Nino


I could use any of the cliched lines to describe our end:
The fire just went out-
We were mutually incompatable-
Or, my personal favorite- We came to a separate and distinct peace-

There were no gains, no losses on either side-
The arsonists realized what they had done when they started the fire-
We both dropped our guns-
And ran from the war where no bullets were fired.

The truth, though - is that I stopped dreaming of you.
Not... real dreams, the ones fabricated while asleep-
But the vision of my future.
One as fantastic as the craziest dream.

I cleared out a spot for us -together-
A little world, with just us-
And the people we would let in-
Looking out at the troubles that couldn't get to us.

You made me feel like a pawn-
The one sacrificed at the begining of a chess game-
To show the bloodshed has started.
(This is me upending the board.)

I don't know how I factored into your plans,
Or, rather, I didn't-
It seems you've invaded my dreams-
This time, the ones fabricated while asleep.

It seemed strange, at first, that you were visiting me-
In that place, at that time-
With those people.
Neither of us cared much for witnesses.

What you said confirmed my worst fears-
Not just about you, but about me, as well.
You kissed me, a kiss that numbed my hands-
And tingled the tips of my hair.

That kiss held the promise of everything I had wanted,
Our entire world was summed up in that moment.
And I knew I had to destroy it.


I will admit, my vision of our future was naive at best-
But it was no better then yours. That kiss showed me-
Stronger then any other action- that the foundation was cracking-
No, not cracking, but flawed from the start.

A love that sequesters itself-
That centers only on two people and shuts out all else-
Cannot survive long- It is introverted-
All its energy is spent denying the existance of the outside.

This fire, as well- is doomed to fail-
For one will burn, and the other will seek the warmth.
A fire must be attracted to other fires- it must spread by nature, or die.
And it is in pursuing a fire that the kindling ignites.

If the fire consumes the kindling, both will be destroyed-
But if it stays just long enough to offer warmth, and help-
Then the kindling can begin to grow, to move and pulsate-
And ignite the skies- in its search for love.
 

Author's Note

This is another poem out of South Carolina... I know the last few stanzas sound an awful lot like the last few stanzas of another poem I've written, but I couldn't take the other part out without demolishing that poem and it seemed to me like this version was clearer as far as what I was trying to say... so... :P