Newton's Cradle

Sleep is where I find the worlds that want to exist.

I.

I dreamt of a skeletal landscape

that I once called home.

I could see dead olive clouds,

the last breath of Atlas,

as if the sky was decaying, 

the earth itself in rigor mortis.

My lungs breathed heavy in a noose of forsaken air

beneath where once there might have been some kind of God

shaking his head in awe

at what we could accomplish.

Even at the world’s ellipsis

the people around me seemed to continue

as if their life sentence

wasn’t grammatically disastrous.

I awoke from it all

having no disasters left.

Just spaces between words

from which to continue.

II.

Dayna kept the lights on in her dream journal

for fear of relinquished nightmares.

She had every reason to believe

that she was worth her weight in fire

Perhaps, the next time she woke up

standing on the edge of her rooftop

she would be an angel before she hit the ground.

She writes, I am always searching for something.

III.

I am not all the little things that remind you of me.

I was never the vapor.

I was always the heat.

There is an audience of dust, and stone, and landscape

where my shadow waits for you.

It’s alright to take your time.

Bring your breath.

Set the stage with every step.

Your tumbleweed heartbeat

is going to wander

until it reminds you of me.

I was never the dream.

I was always the dreamer.

Dying will be your greatest performance.

Survival will be your masterpiece.

IV.

There is always some kind of wound on me…

V.

You refuse to let go of what hurts you most

as though somehow

they validate you.

And such a belief 

might make it true.

I wish you could walk with me in my dreams

so you can see

that what I can imagine

is not limited to

what I can produce.

VI.

...I am always healing.

I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.

VII.

Close your eyes and count to courage.

I won’t be gone for long.

I’m coming back as autumn leaves

and impossible colors we cannot see.

I'm coming back as carnivorous galaxies,

star collisions we'll never know about.

I'm coming back as discord,

as the smell of distant thunder,

and the sensation of sneezing.

I'll be coming back

so alive.

VIII.

Start.

A breathing moment of coherency.

It fades seamlessly into a shuffle of thoughts

into a timeless dreamlike vision

into a dulling pulsing unconsciousness…

and then a start again.

My body wanting to sleep.

My mind refusing to let it.

I drift into ellipsis…

Author's Note

I'll meet you on the other side.

Reviews

[Heather]

I read up to V. then had to stop because I literally pounded my hand on the table and shouting YES, this poet, this GREAT man, CAN write! Then I went back to read the rest with my face as close to the screen as I could get. Your dream state is a genius Masterpiece. I have to keep this, I have so much more I want to say, but instead…just…thank you

[GunMetal]

Wow, thank you so much =)
I'm quite flattered! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Felecia]

Damn dude! You can totally write! This is some amazing stuff here! This is one of the most amazing things I've read all day so far! (I had like...114 reeading requests). I can't even explain in words how amazing this is. I LOVE IT!

[Alessander]

haha

why am I not surprised Maidhal impressed lol

You have improved, but some economy can still be excericed.

HOWEVER...there's something here which you feared to touch before.

that's a start. and the hat.

[GunMetal]

And the best part is that I didn't even touch a thesaurus for this =P
I'm glad you like it. And the poem.

I had this one on the shelf for a while. I decided to finish it up when you posted your segmented poem Shine on you crazy diamonds.

[Kaylor Mason]

I read them all, all the way through--it's quite good. My favorite one was the part where it said that which hurts us defines us, or something like that, and how you couldn't let go of it. I read that and thought "I resemble that remark." That part was really good. Funny, in my experience when you learn to let them go, you get redefined as something . . . else. Something better and more complete than ever before.
The rest of the dreamscapes were awesome, too. They were stark and carried volumes of meaning in their words "Close your eyes and count yourself to courage" I thought that one in particular was exquisite. Nice work

[Laura Maidah]

Last three lines are genius. S**t. Ignore my other review. I have split personality syndrome and my lesser half wrote that.

[Laura Maidah]

VIII is great.

VI is a real thing.



THe rest is equally adequate. It just trying to impress. When you try to impress, make sure it's f*****g funny, like using the Thesaurus and making sure no one knows what the f**k you're talking about so you feel like a true genius instead of trying to sound/look like one. I know. That makes too much sense.

[TC Dunn]

wow. what a powerful poem. Loved it. The line, "for fear of relinquished nightmares" is my favorite. Great job.

[GunMetal]

I appreciate that. =) Thank you.

[Pax]

i just love this sentence: "I was never the dream. I was always the dreamer."
great and brilliant words of thoughts and emotions.
a magnificent write.

[Southern Cross]

" I am not all the little things that remind you of me.
I was never the vapor."
I was always the heat." This is worth coming home from vacation to read..Whew and again Whew These lines are in themselves magnificent.

[joshua deathdealer]

Aww man.. what a stellar write. Bravo all the way around. Nice form to.

[Kenneth The Poet]

Kickass.

[GunMetal]

My kung fu is strong.